Welcome to the Elevator World News Podcast. This week’s news podcast is sponsored by elevatorbooks.com: http://www.elevatorbooks.com
ZIEHL-ABEGG SAYS 2017 RECORD YEAR FOR SALES
Ziehl-Abegg, a Künzelsau, Germany-based manufacturer of electric motors and fans for elevators and other applications, announced on December 7 that the company had already surpassed its annual sales record, fueled by demand for its energy-saving devices. CEO Peter Fenkl said that by the end of the year, the company was expecting to reach EUR530 million (US$624 million) in sales, a 10% increase over 2016. Ziehl-Abegg employs 2,000 people at its production plants in Germany and has a global workforce of 3,550 spread across 16 production plants, 27 companies and 97 sales locations. Its products are sold in more than 100 countries.
CRUISE SHIP TESTING DESTINATION DISPATCHING
Royal Caribbean International is testing a destination-dispatching system on the KONE elevators aboard the world's largest cruise ship, Harmony of the Seas, Travel Pulse reports. If the tests go well, the system may be installed in the Symphony of the Seas, set for launch in April 2018, and could be retrofitted to other Royal Caribbean vessels, the source said. The KONE Polaris touchscreen system will operate similarly to land-based destination-control systems, in that it allows riders to choose their destination from the lobby panel, then directs them to the elevator that gives the quickest transit to that destination. It will be more complicated on the ship, however, because some of the elevators have multiple entrances. If Royal Caribbean adopts the system, it would be the first cruise line equipped with destination dispatching, the source said.
GOLD COAST RESIDENTIAL TOWER DESIGNED TO WITHSTAND WIND
The Gold Coast City Council in Australia has approved a 165-m-tall beachfront residential tower on Wharf Road in Broadbeach being developed by Golden Gate Property Group and designed by Rothelowman, the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat reports. It includes 35 full-floor residences, a two-story sub-penthouse and a three-story penthouse. Its slender, 12-m-wide parametric design is a response to wind and structural requirements. Rothelowman Associate Principal Jonothan Cowle stated: "The exoskeleton design meant we could cross-brace the building externally via a diagrid, which enabled us to open up the façade and create a truly 3D building with windows on all sides and enough asymmetries to mitigate prevailing winds."
PLAN FOR 51-STORY CHICAGO OFFICE TOWER HITS SNAG
Chicago’s Riverside Investment & Development and Dallas-based Howard Hughes Corp. have hit an unexpected, “highly unusual” snag in their plan to build a 51-story office tower at 110 N. Wacker Drive in Chicago, the Chicago Tribune reports. At issue is a notice to developers from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that a five-story, midcentury modern office building on the site is “architecturally significant,” and that demolishing it could have an adverse effect on its surroundings. The Corps is seeking public input through December 14 and plan to meet again the next day with developers to craft a mitigation agreement.
Image Courtesy royalportfolio.com:
http://royalportfolio.com/harmony-of-the-seas-2/
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