ThyssenKrupp Access, a leading supplier of lifts and elevators, recently won the 2014 Project of the Year award by Elevator World magazine for its installation of the highest chairlift in the world in Makkah Royal Hotel Clock Tower.

Known as Abraj Al-Bait Towers, the world’s third tallest building is only a few meters away from one of Islam´s most sacred sites - the Kaaba. The tower’s highest point is now equipped with a “Flow” chairlift.

Farid Oilad Adj Amar, business development manager Middle East, ThyssenKrupp Access, said: “Our products help make life easy and comfortable, at home as well as in public areas. We can tailor an individual solution for every customer for each situation in life.”

Besides the Makkah Clock Tower Project, ThyssenKrupp Access provided 36 exclusive home elevators in Jabal Omar Town Houses in Makkah.

Oilad added: “The Makkah Clock Tower project is one of our most noteworthy projects in this region. Our “Flow” chairlift was found to be the only suitable lifting solution to provide access to the very top of the building and due to the exclusiveness of the venture, the international magazine Elevator World has honoured the company with its 2014 Project of the Year award.”

The project won the first prize in the category “Platform Lifts & Stairway Chairlifts” scoring in terms of technical product specifications and uniqueness of installation side. It prevailed against more than 20 competitive submissions.

Other decisive criteria were innovation, originality, creativity, challenges to overcome, installation methods and technique as well as the use of advanced technology.

The rail of the chairlift was tailor-made to fit into the extreme steep and narrow surroundings of the tower´s staircase with seven spirals, a total of 91 steps and an average tread with of 380 mm only. The chairlift consists of 13 rail parts with 29 curves, adding up to a complete rail length of 24.8 meters. The rail was installed on the inner curve of the staircase in order to minimize the space used on the stairway.

To allow the chairlift to smoothly maneuver on the staircase, the Flow chairlift is equipped with patented ASL Advanced Swivel and Leveling technology.

This unique system synchronizes the drive unit of the chairlift with the geometry of the rail, thereby ensuring that the seat is directed through the stairwell by making maximum use of the limited space available. This technology qualified the Flow chairlift as the only possible chairlift solution to be installed in this particular environment.

The final installation of the chairlift, the complete rail system with all 13 sections and 29 curves, was finished within just one week. – TradeArabia News Service