Jul 8 2008
The Hamburg-based company ThyssenKrupp Fahrtreppen, a subsidiary of ThyssenKrupp Elevator, is supplying two exclusive mobile escalators for the Chinese airline Air China. The custom units will be used at Beijing International Airport for receiving important guests of state during and after the Olympic Games.
Custom-built in Hamburg, the two escalators have a connecting height of up to 4.90 meters. They are each mounted on a truck which drives them right up to the aircraft. Two different docking heights allow docking with Boeing 747/Airbus A380 as well as Airbus A330/A340 planes. Height differences due to different loading and fuel levels can be offset hydraulically. Gold-colored steps and tinted glass balustrades ensure a fitting reception for special guests. Shipping by barge and container ship from Hamburg to Asia has already begun – the special cargo is expected to arrive in China at the beginning of August.
“The Air China contract was a tricky challenge for our company,” says Wolfgang Stein, managing director of ThyssenKrupp Fahrtreppen. “Normally it’s escalators that move people, but in this case the escalators themselves also have to be mobile – which made things particularly interesting for our engineers. The order gives us the unique opportunity to take part in the Olympic Games with particularly innovative products,” said Stein.
ThyssenKrupp Fahrtreppen is the only company in the world capable of supplying mobile escalators of the required specification: The vehicles are fitted with their own hydraulic units and generators to operate the lift cylinders and escalator drives. Air China can also rely on the experience of the Hamburg-based escalator manufacturers, who have already built 16 such installations for the Middle East and Eastern Europe. This is the first contract for the Asian region.
Besides the mobile escalators ThyssenKrupp Elevator is supplying a further 318 products for the Olympic Games in China: For example, 16 elevators, ten escalators and 90 moving walks have been installed in the new Terminal 3 of Beijing International Airport. Products from ThyssenKrupp Elevator are also in use in the National Conference Centre in Beijing Olympic Park and at further Olympic venues in Beijing and Qingdao.