BUSINESS & ECONOMIC DEV.
Cobb’s tallest tower takes shape beside stadium
By Aleks Gilbert
agilbert@mdjonline.com
Core construction finished in June
for Cobb County’s tallest building: the
Thyssenkrupp Elevator test tower at The
Battery in Cumberland.
The building, 420 feet tall, will be the
tallest elevator test tower in the Western
Hemisphere, according to the company.
The completion “is an important
moment in our company’s history,” Kevin
Lavallee, CEO of Thyssenkrupp Elevator
North America, said in a statement, “as it
not only symbolizes a brighter future for
our organization and the local community,
but will be a beacon of engineering
excellence that will help transform an
industry in need of modern innovations.”
The tower’s construction schedule has
not changed despite the company’s recent
change of hands.
In July, Thyssenkrupp closed the $18.9
billion sale of its elevator technology
business to a consortium of private equity
firms. The sale created a new standalone
company, Thyssenkrupp Elevator.
The tower is projected to be completed
in 2021 with a final move-in by early
2022, as is an adjacent facility at The Battery
that will become the North American
headquarters of Thyssenkrupp AG.
The elevator test tower will consist of
18 shafts and will be used to trial new
concepts and products. It will test highspeed
elevators and TWIN, a Thyssenkrupp
elevator system that features two
cabins working independently in one
shaft, and MULTI, which is a rope-less
and sideways-moving elevator system.
The tower will also be used to conduct
robust tests to ensure compliance with
stringent safety requirements on standard
elevators.
The tower will have a glass facade on
the side facing The Battery, so people
there will be able to see operations inside.
The core was built up at a rate of more
than 7 feet per day and completed ahead
of schedule in 57 days. It was made using
a slip-form construction process, which
involves a moving formwork system
being set down on the foundation with
concrete being placed on a continuous
basis. The process is relatively rare in the
U.S. but is popular in Europe, and was
used for Thyssenkrupp’s 800-foot-tall
elevator test tower in Rottweil, Germany.
Construction of the new test tower is
being handled by its general contractor,
Brasfield & Gorrie, which also built the
Omni Hotel at The Battery.
The general contractor also served
as the managing partner of American
Builders 2017, the joint venture that built
Truist Park.
More than 900 full-time employees are
expected to be based at Thyssenkrupp’s
North America headquarters, and up to
200 contractors will be employed on the
Cumberland construction, which brings
a $240 million price tag.
VOTED BEST ELECTRICIAN
Residential and Commercial Service
Special — Ron Acord
LICENSED AND INSURED | FREE ESTIMATES | UP-FRONT PRICING | 100% SATISFACTION GUARANTEED
FACTBOOK 2021 77
404-645-6843
1034 Concord Rd, Smyrna GA 30080 | www.powerselectricalsolutions.com
/www.powerselectricalsolutions.com
link