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The proliferation of supertall towers around the world continually drives innovations in building engineering, and thyssenkrupp Elevator is at the forefront when it comes to whisking people to never-before-reached heights. Headquartered in Germany but brandishing a global presence, the manufacturer unveiled another major example of their work last week with the opening of its newest plant and elevator test tower in Zhongshan City, China.
It's easy to mistake the 248-metre-high test tower with a typical skyscraper. Differentiating itself from the chimney-like shape of early elevator test towers, the structure has a thin strip of windows along its spine. Inside, the 13 shafts will be used to trial new concepts and product pilots, including a new high-speed elevator capable of reaching speeds up to 18 metres per second. The tower can also conduct tests for the world's first rope-free elevator system, MULTI.
"It is always our ambition to be close to our customers, and the testing process is important to ensure we can flex to what people really want and need," said Andreas Schierenbeck, CEO of thyssenkrupp Elevator. "China is an exciting territory to be operating in, with as many as 500,000 units being installed each year — so it was a natural choice to build our first international test tower there."
One of the world's tallest elevator test towers, the Chinese structure joins thyssenkrupp's October-unveiled tower in their home country of Germany.
