News about WERMA
WERMA’s beacons light up the sky above Rottweil
After two years’ building work in Rottweil a new state-of-the-art tower for testing high speed ThyssenKrupp lifts has been commissioned. At 246 m high the tower not only has the highest viewing platform in Germany but is also becoming a magnet for sight-seeing in Baden-Württemberg. In order that the tower is clearly visible to aircraft pilots in the dark or poor visibility it has to be illuminated with so-called obstruction beacons. The extremely bright red LED beacons from WERMA are one of the important safety factors in aviation.
In Germany towers, masts, factory chimneys and high buildings above a certain height must be illuminated with obstruction beacons. These special beacons ensure that the obstruction is clearly visible to aircraft pilots during darkness and poor visibility conditions. The requirement for and application of such beacons is laid down in legal guidelines and recommendations*. Rietheim based WERMA has supplied 22 obstruction beacons type 281 thus making a significant contribution to aircraft safety.
Long maintenance-free life
The type 281 obstruction beacon is extremely bright giving out 32 candela with the distinctive “aircraft red” colour visible in 360°. Using the latest long-life LEDS the beacons are virtually maintenance free giving a life of up to 50,000 hours which is 50 times longer than traditional filament bulbs which would have to be replaced frequently in service.
The design and construction of the beacon is extremely robust and the materials used are resistant to sea-water and fuels. The glass lens is made of hardened reinforced borosilicate and can withstand even the most severe of weather conditions.
WERMA offers solutions for many applications, not just in industry
Once again WERMA shows that signal devices are not only deployed in classic machine and equipment applications. They are also used extensively in the construction industry and entry/exit applications in, for example, car-parks and leisure centres/theme parks. The wide range of optical and audible signal devices makes the local environment safe and secure. WERMA puts great value on clever solutions that simply work – for decades.
A tower of superlatives
The test tower in Rottweil is quite unique with its special membrane which is wrapped around the concrete casing like a screw, making it not only a visually unique construction but also full of other secrets. 15,000 cubic metres of concrete were used in the building and 2,500 tons of steel. The foundations are 30 m deep and a total of 1,670 steps have to be trodden to reach the viewing platform. Up there at a height of 232 m the highest viewing platform in Germany affords, on a clear day, breath-taking panoramic views of the Black Forest, up to the Schwäbian Hills and down to the Alps.
The tower will, under conditions of severe high wind forces, move by up to 75 cm. The tower is used to test the very latest in high-speed passenger and goods lifts manufactured by Thyssenkrupp which will later be installed in sky-scrapers making Rottweil the centre for the type of work.
*see international civil aviation regulations (ICAO) and guidelines issued by the German Federal Ministry for transport
