News Release

August 3, 2005

Potain Tower Cranes Help with Ground Breaking Danish Construction

A total of 12 Potain tower cranes are working at the heart of a new concert hall construction project in the Ørestad area of the Danish capital Copenhagen

A total of 12 Potain tower cranes are working at the heart of a new concert hall construction project in the Ørestad area of the Danish capital Copenhagen. The cranes are under the control of main contractor MT Hoggaard and have been supplied by AJOS, the contractor’s own rental equipment subsidiary. A combination of Potain models MD 175B, MD 285B, MD 305B, MD 365B, GTMR 386 and HD 40A are on site, all of which have been supplied on a full-service contract.

The concert hall will form part of a distinctive new multi-media center, to be known as the D R Byen Building, being built for the Danish Radio Broadcasting Corp. Its exterior design has been modeled on a Middle Eastern Kasbah and it will eventually comprise four sections, the last of which to be built is the concert hall.

The cranes are proving extremely effective in handling steel and concrete on the project, with loads of up to 16 t (17.6 US t) being lifted. Working at heights of up to 61 m (200 ft), and with jibs of up to 65 m (213 ft), Potain’s tower cranes are dominating the site. The manufacturer’s Top-Tracing anti-collision software is proving particularly useful, as the work is taking place in the middle of a variety of other renovation and building projects. The technology ensures strict operating area control for the cranes preventing them from over-swinging other sites and also the nearby Metro rail line.

Operating out of three main depots, the 170-employee strong AJOS is the only Potain distributor in Denmark, and in addition to sales the company also operates a rental fleet of about 80 tower cranes, most of which are Potain units.

AJOS sales manager, Erik Mølskov Jensen says of the project. “The Potain cranes have performed well on this job. Their state of the art technology makes them market leaders in my opinion, yet they are also simple to operate. The added comfort of air conditioning in the cab has made them very popular with the operators. The cranes can be worked up to 15 hours a day on this site, yet we rarely have any problems with them.”

The D R Byen building is a grandiose undertaking and although designed to resemble an historical Middle Eastern building, the multi-media center will be a modern, open plan, covered community of business, retail, streets and meeting places. Since the project’s commencement in Spring 2003 other innovative building designs have appeared in the Øresund area as part of the Ørestad Development Corporation’s plan to re-develop the area over a period of 25 years.

Once completed the D R Byen Building will cover an area of 130,000 m² (1.4 million ft²). Each of its four sections has been designed by a different architect with the first segment, housing the major television studios and the director-general’s office, opened in December 2003. The next two sections are due to be completed early next year and will accommodate among other things, the News and Sports departments and Copenhagen Radio. The concert hall, meanwhile, will comprise 25 rehearsal rooms, a choral room, an orchestral room, four concert halls (the largest of which will seat 1800), five stages and a rhythmic studio. The state-funded project will be completed in 2008 and will be used to broadcast both television and radio productions as well as accommodate live music events.

High Resolution Photograph (1.5 MB)

About The Manitowoc Company
The Manitowoc Company, Inc. is one of the world's largest providers of lifting equipment for the global construction industry, including lattice-boom cranes,tower cranes, mobile telescopic cranes, and boom trucks. As a leading manufacturer of ice-cube machines, ice/beverage dispensers, and commercial refrigeration equipment, the company offers the broadest line of cold-focused equipment for the foodservice industry. In addition, the company is a leading provider of shipbuilding, ship repair, and conversion services for government, military, and commercial customers throughout the U.S. maritime industry.

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