WOLFF TV 60 tower element

In 2020, Wolffkran developed the TV 60 tower section with a 6.0 x 6.0 meters dimension for the Spitallamm Replacement Dam project on the Swiss Grimsel Pass. At this year's bauma, the XXL tower section can finally be seen beyond the Swiss Alps. Positioned at the edge of Wolffkran's exhibition stand, it can't be missed and acts as an entrance portal, guiding visitors into the booth.

Despite the sheer dimensions of the tower section, which has to be assembled with no less than 288 screw bolts and 24 pins, the project team emphasized making its assembly as simple as possible. "Using only comparably small M48 and M24 screw bolts, the tightening tools can easily be handled with one hand. Also, the screw bolts for connecting the tower sections are positioned so that no fixed tightening sequence is necessary, and they can be handled by one person," says Patrick Witteck from the Technical Support Team at Wolffkran.

The XXL tower element weighing 28 tons can be disassembled into its individual parts and transported on just 1.5 trucks while also being optimized for transportation in standard sea freight containers.

Braving extreme winter conditions in the Swiss Alps

Within less than a year after receiving the project inquiry for the crane concept for Spitallam Replacement Dam, fourteen of the XXL tower elements were assembled on the Swiss Grimsel Pass in late summer 2020, where they have since withstood the extreme impacts of ice, snow, and wind at an altitude of around 1,900 meters above sea level. Combined with the 3.3-meter TV 33 tower element, seven of them each serve as a stable base for the two 90-meter freestanding WOLFF 1250 B luffers. In fact, it would be possible to go even higher. With the combination of TV 60 and TV 33, the XXL luffers can be erected freestanding up to 130 meters. 

The TV 60 at a glance: