Working at great heights

"The greater the height, the bigger the challenge. Wind, confined spaces or long overhangs call for high-performance technology, but also experience and precise planning", explains Managing Director Günter Übelacker. A look at selected projects from the company’s history highlights the wide range of challenges involved in installation work at great heights and demonstrates how Heavydrive delivers safe solutions even under exceptional conditions.

A particular milestone was the first major international contract in 2011. For the extension to the Grand Mosque in Mecca (Saudi Arabia), the company developed the VSG 4500 K vacuum suction system with a counterweight adapter. The Arabic-style façade elements, which were up to 16.3 metres (53.5 ft) high and weighed 4.5 tonnes (9,921 lbs), were the largest of their kind on the Arab market. At the same time, the construction site placed the highest demands on the installation techniques used. The panes had to be fitted with precision beneath a building overhang 1.5 metres (4.9 ft) deep. The vacuum suction system picked up the elements sideways, rotated them to a vertical position and, with the aid of a construction crane, positioned them facing forwards. The VSG 7000 counterweight system ensured the necessary balance in every position and laid the foundations for many further international projects.

In Poing, near Munich, the company faced an extraordinary challenge. Several large glass panes had to be fitted for the new parish church. Replacing a damaged window on the north-west side of the building proved extremely difficult. The glass element – weighing 1,200 kilograms (2,646 lbs) and measuring 5.7 × 3.2 metres (18.7 × 10.5 ft) – could not be transported up to the façade because an adjacent park did not allow vehicle access. Instead, a mobile crane moved the Heavydrive VSG 2000 counterweight system and the VSG 2000 K MH vacuum suction system across the church building, which is more than 30 metres (98.4 ft) high. On the other side of the building, the broken pane was lifted out under suction and removed. The new pane was fitted in the same way. In total, Heavydrive installed eight façade panes, some of which were fitted beneath building overhangs up to three metres (9.8 ft) deep and flush with the façade. Thanks to the close coordination between the crane operator and the Heavydrive service team, even the replacement of the pane was completed in just three hours.