Mercedes Suspended From Sky Tower Using Towbar Technology

Technology taken from the design and construction of towbars was used to safely secure a Mercedes-Benz car to the side of Auckland’s 328-metre high Sky Tower.

The task of sticking a car on the side of the country’s tallest building over several weeks for a Christmas promotion for the Sky City casino did not faze towbar manufacturer Best Bars Limited, which created the cradle to hold the vehicle.

After all, the company had done it before, when another promotion ten years ago saw a 4WD vehicle appear to climb the Sky Tower.

According to Best Bars CEO Stephen de Kriek, the secret is down to how his company makes everyday towbars.

“The same engineering processes and technology employed in the manufacture of towbars applies in creating a frame to hold the weight of a vehicle,” he says.

“In fact, we used a towbar as a starting point to create the rear part of the frame and then worked forward, using the same steel tube and welding techniques.”

The main difference was in designing the frame which pick-up points to secure to the rest of the vehicle’s chassis....and the timeframe in which the project was completed. Normally it takes several months from original design to production phase when a new towbar is created, but for the Sky Tower cradle, Best Bars took just three weeks.

That tight timeframe included sending riggers up the side of the tower to devise a jig to precisely fit the four stainless steel bolts fixed into the structure of the tower – enabling Best Bars to make the final frame within a tight 3mm tolerance. During the manufacturing process it went through the same quality checks, corrosion proofing and then final load tests that towbars are subjected to.

So when the time came for the Mercedes-Benz to be craned into position, the Best Bars team was in no doubt it would hold the weight and stand up to all weather and high winds. The cradle is designed with a safety factor of five times the overall weight, including the car.

One of the challenges was to be able to fix a frame to the Sky Tower exterior wall without causing any damage and Best Bars came up with special nylon feet that act as a cushion.

“The reason Best Bars was chosen was that we have proven reputation and the engineering skills to deliver, along with our ISO 9001 technical and ISO14001 environmental standards,” adds Mr de Kriek.

“It was certainly a challenging task, but very rewarding when you see it all come together and the car is bolted to the Sky Tower first time with no hassles. It was all very exciting and we are thankful to Sky City and the project team for allowing us to be part of it.”

Below is a link to the You Tube video of how the car got up the Sky Tower:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnQHYbhGWmY