thyssenkrupp Elevator reaches topping-out milestone on exterior structure of 420-foot-tall test tower in Atlanta

ATLANTA, Oct. 9, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- thyssenkrupp Elevator has completed construction on the exterior of its 420-foot-tall Innovation and Qualification Center (IQC), which will be home to the tallest elevator test tower in the Western Hemisphere, as the building reached its topping-out point today at The Battery Atlanta.

The milestone brings the vertical transportation leader one step closer to completion of its new North American headquarters. The three-building headquarters will also include the adjacent Corporate Headquarters (CHQ) and the Business Headquarters (BHQ) located in nearby Pennant Park. The CHQ is on track for completion in 2021. Meanwhile, thyssenkrupp Elevator employees began moving into the BHQ in March 2019.

"The topping-out of the IQC represents a significant milestone not only for our organization, but for the industry and community as we are now one step closer to completing our engineering and innovation hub and officially calling Atlanta home," says Kevin Lavallee, President and CEO of thyssenkrupp Elevator North America.

In July 2018, thyssenkrupp Elevator announced it would be establishing its new North American headquarters at The Battery Atlanta in an event held at the former SunTrust Park and attended by many of the top business leaders in the community, including now former Governor Nathan Deal.

The groundbreaking ceremony for the IQC was held in April 2019, while slip-form construction on the IQC began in January 2020 and was completed in only 56 days by general contractor Brasfield & Gorrie.

"We are grateful to thyssenkrupp Elevator for the opportunity to work on the unique Innovation and Qualification Center project," says Brasfield & Gorrie Vice President and Division Manager Ben Norton. "thyssenkrupp Elevator is making a significant investment that will impact our Cobb County community's future economy, and Brasfield & Gorrie is committed to supporting our client's vision with the successful completion of this iconic project."

With 18 shafts, the test tower will be used to trial new concepts and product pilots, including high-speed elevators as well as the two-cabins-per-shaft elevator system, TWIN. The test tower will also conduct robust tests to ensure compliance with stringent safety requirements on standard elevators.

To showcase the elevators at the test tower, the IQC will feature a complete glass exterior façade facing The Battery Atlanta, allowing millions of visitors annually to view operations that are normally hidden behind concrete walls in rural locations. In addition to the elevator test tower, the IQC will also feature event and meeting spaces located at the top of the building – providing breathtaking views of the region – as well as a digital showroom, software lab, engineering offices and training facilities.

In August 2019, thyssenkrupp Elevator announced it would pursue LEED v4 certification for the IQC.

The IQC and CHQ are on schedule for completion in 2021 with final move-in by 2022. Both the IQC and CHQ are being built on property owned by Braves Development Company. While thyssenkrupp Elevator owns the IQC building, it will lease space for its CHQ in the Three Ballpark Center building, which is owned by Braves Development Company.

"Another milestone completed for this innovative project which will change and enhance the skyline in Cobb County," says Mike Plant, President and CEO of Braves Development Company. "We are looking forward to having this beautiful complex completed and come alive with thyssenkrupp Elevator staff and visitors from around the world as we continue our plans of reinvigorating this part of the county."

To view renderings of thyssenkrupp Elevator's new North American headquarters in Atlanta, click here. Images of the test tower construction are available for download here. 

To view time-lapse video of the IQC and elevator test tower, go to https://www.thyssenkruppelevator.com/About-Us/atlanta-headquarters

Press Contacts

Dennis Van Milligen
Communications Specialist
thyssenkrupp Elevator North America
Tel: +1 312 525 3190
E-Mail: [email protected]
Web: www.thyssenkruppelevator.com

Michael Ridder
Spokesperson
thyssenkrupp Elevator AG
Tel: +49 201 844-535 104
E-Mail: [email protected]
Web: www.thyssenkrupp-elevator.com

People shaping cities blog: www.urban-hub.com 

About us:

thyssenkrupp Elevator

With customers in over 100 countries served by more than 50,000 employees, thyssenkrupp Elevator achieved sales of around €8 billion in the fiscal year 2018/2019. Over 1,000 locations around the world provide an extensive network that guarantees closeness to customers. After building its position as one of the world's leading elevator companies in a mere 40 years' time, thyssenkrupp Elevator became an independent company in August 2020. The company's most important business line is its service business, with approximately 1.4 million units under maintenance and over 24,000 service technicians globally. The product portfolio covers commodity elevators for residential and commercial buildings to cutting-edge, highly customized solutions for state-of-the-art skyscrapers – such as One World Trade Center in New York. In addition, it also consists of escalators and moving walks, passenger boarding bridges, stair and platform lifts, as well as tailored service solutions such as MAX, the industry's first cloud-based digitally enhanced maintenance solution – thus covering a broad spectrum of urban mobility.

Brasfield & Gorrie

Founded in 1964, Brasfield & Gorrie is one of the nation's largest privately held construction firms, providing general contracting, design-build, and construction management services for a wide variety of markets. We are skilled in construction best practices, including virtual design and construction, integrated project delivery, and lean construction, but we are best known for our preconstruction and self-perform expertise and exceptional client service. Brasfield & Gorrie has 12 offices and approximately 3,000 employees. Our 2019 revenues were $3.8 billion. Engineering News-Record ranks Brasfield & Gorrie 25th among the nation's "Top 400 Contractors" for 2019.

The Battery Atlanta

The Battery Atlanta, a 2 million square-foot mixed-use development, located at the intersection of I-75 and I-285, features boutique shopping, chef-driven restaurants, an Omni Hotel, The Coca-Cola Roxy, 531 residences, Two Ballpark Center loft office home to SPACES, Three Ballpark Center home to thyssenkrupp Elevator, and One Ballpark Center, Comcast's regional office headquarters. Powered by Comcast's all-fiber network and delivering multi-terabit capabilities, The Battery Atlanta has the highest-capacity network serving any mixed-use development in the nation. For more information on The Battery Atlanta, please visit batteryatl.com or connect on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

SOURCE thyssenkrupp Elevator

Related Links

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