The BETA electric wire-rope winches are designed for loads of up to 160kg, which can be raised and lowered to lifting heights of about 43m at a speed of approximately 13m/min. The extraordinary safety required for this demanding application – since these electric wire rope winches are used primarily in theaters to enable people to “fly” – is ensured by two independent brakes and by components that are configured for loads that are far more than twice as heavy.
The winches bear the testing seal from the Fachausschuss Hebezeuge (German Technical Committee for Hoisting Devices) and were approved for use in the opening ceremony by an expert for theatre and stage technology.
Before the event, the artistic performances were closely guarded secrets. The electric wire-rope winches from Pfaff-silberblau were employed to enable artists, who were wearing a heavy costume weighing approximately 60kg, to float up and down in the air. To make this possible, 12 wire rope winches each were anchored on the uppermost decks of the stands on the long sides of the arena. From there, two wire rope sheaves each (in the roof) were used to draw their cables to their starting points above the turf.
Stationary cables attached to the roof ran across the pitch at a height of around 40m and formed the fixed lowering points for the 24 hoisting winches, which were spread out evenly and symmetrically throughout the inside of the arena in this way.
“We were very pleased to be able to participate in the opening of the World Cup 2006 with our technology – even though, as is so often the case, it remains invisible to the audience,” said Pfaff-silberblau CEO Martin Kutschka.
He added: “Here we see that our engineers not only develop sophisticated system solutions for industrial drive applications, but they are also recognised for their expertise in the design of demanding stage technology.”
Technical components from Pfaff-silberblau are used to equip many international stages, such as the Stanislawski Theatre in Moscow or “Neue Flora” Theatre in Hamburg, which was reconstructed for the European premiere of the “Dirty Dancing” musical.
The company from Derching in Southern Germany, however, also takes responsibility for the design of complete stage systems, such as the adaptation and reconstruction of the above-stage rigging in the “Metronom Theatre” in Oberhausen, Germany, for “Beauty and the Beast.”
