Gulf Construction Online - Putzmeister poised to break records

Germany & the Mideast

Khalid Mohammed S Bakhit, managing director of Unimix and Dr Hinrich Mahlmann.

Putzmeister poised to break records

Concrete pumping technology will be stretched to record heights when Putzmeister pumps get into operation on the world's tallest tower – the Burj Dubai.

01 March 2005

German construction equipment specialist Putzmeister will soon be a part of yet another record-breaking team as its range of concrete pumps will work on the Burj Dubai – which at over 600 m (the exact height is not yet fixed) is slated to be the tallest tower in the world.

A contract to this effect was recently entered into between Universal Concrete Products Limited Company (Unimix) and Putzmeister (PM) the engineering and plant construction company.
Previously, Unimix as subcontractor had been given the order to produce, supply, pump and place all of the approximately 250,000 cu m concrete required, says a spokesman for Putzmeister.
“Co-operation between Unimix and PM is long-standing and has tradition,” says the spokesman. “Both partners have already worked together in excellent cooperation on previous large-scale projects in Dubai, including the construction of the seven-star hotel Burj A Arab, the Emirate Towers, the Shangri-La Hotel and The Tower.”
“During the construction of the shell of the building, Putzmeister concrete pumps are expected to reach a delivery height of distinctly more than 500 m,” he continues. “The experts are therefore reckoning that the current world record in concrete high-rise pumping of 532 m (set by PM concrete pumps in 1994) will be broken at this spectacular building site.
“The estimated $8 billion Burj Dubai tower is looked on as the centrepiece of the Downtown Dubai Development design and is financed by the real estate company Emaar Properties. A joint venture comprising Samsung Corporation (South Korea), Besix (Belgium) and the local construction company Arabtec was awarded the contract as general contractor for the construction of the prestigious high-rise complex. Skidmore, Owing & Merrill was commissioned with the design and planning of the Burj Dubai Tower while Turner Construction International has been named the project coordinator.
The shell of the building is estimated to require around 36 months of construction time for completion, he says.

University at Afghanistan
Putzmeister pumps are busy on a wide range of projects in the region. Among the current projects under way is the rebuilding of a new university complex in Kabul, Afghanistan.
An Afghan-Iranian enterprise is currently constructing the modern university centre commissioned by Ayatollah Mohseni, which once completed will accommodate up to 4,000 students on a campus of 36,000 sq m.
In addition to 50 classrooms, the area will boast a research centre, a mosque, a library, a cafeteria, a medical centre and residential accommodation for the students. The foundation stone for the mosque – expected to the largest in Kabul – was laid by President Hamid Karzai.
Elaborating on the work under way, the spokesman says: “In all, work is in progress on 10 buildings of varous sizes, all of which are planned to be handed over in March next year after a two-year construction period.
“The concrete pour for the foundations and the construction of numerous floors was pushed to some extent by Afghan Toos by using a new PM stationary pump type BSA 1005D and an RV 10 rotary distributor. The most important spares and wearing parts of the BSA concrete pump, the couplings and the rubber washers for the delivery line were safely stored in a container.
In addition, a Putzmeister mortar pump type S 5 EV, also working on site, deals with all pumpable mortars up to 6 mm grain size, output can be set infinitely variable (1.5 to 40 l/min) and is used particularly for plastering jobs.
Founded in 1958 for the manufacture of plastering machines, Putzmeister has over the years transformed from a craftsman’s business to a hi-tech company, with over 14 subsidiaries worldwide.
PM’s main products include machines for the pipe conveying and placing of concrete, mortar and high-density solids, including their mixing, storage, distributing, as well as machines and systems for high-pressure-cleaning.
In addition to actually providing the machines, the company also offers complete solutions, which include competent consulting and service, organisational assistance and process control systems.
“Our spheres of operation are in the construction industry, in mining and tunnelling, major industrial projects and in power stations,” he concludes.