Columbus McKinnon Engineered Products GmbH, Kissing/Germany, at the “Showtech 2011“ (June 7-9, 2011, Berlin), Hall 2, Stand 2/B79

Swinging through the jungle with Pfaff-silberblau

Stage technology from Kissing is the secret behind spectacular flying scenes in the “Tarzan” musical at the Stage Theater “Neue Flora” in Hamburg

Kissing (Germany), June 7, 2011– The musical “Tarzan”, currently running at the Stage Theater “Neue Flora” in Hamburg, is one of Germany’s most spectacular musicals at the present time. For almost half of the time of the show, the actors are in the air, swinging over the heads of the audience on nylon ropes disguised as lianas – and held safely by reliable stage technology from Pfaff-silberblau. The entire upper stage machinery at the musical theaters in Hamburg contains individually produced and expertly installed lifting technology bearing the Pfaff-silberblau brand, from the product range offered by Columbus McKinnon Engineered Products GmbH, Kissing. The secret behind the actors’ seemingly effortless swinging on the liana ropes is a total of five flying systems above the stage and three flight paths of up to 30 meters in length running above the audience seating, by means of which Tarzan actor Alexander Klaws and his supporting cast cover up to 20 meters in height difference. Over 7,000 meters of extremely tough mountaineering rope, moved and secured by reliable, high-performance DELTA winches from Pfaff-silberblau, give a quality of near-weightlessness to the actors’ acrobatic musical performance. Taking care of safety in the “Neue Flora” theater is the job of the tried-and-tested heavy-duty winches produced by the stage technology specialist from Kissing: Even when idle, they sustain a load of up to 1,800 kg a great deal longer than other standard winches and therefore meet the extremely strict safety requirements for use in theaters. Pfaff-silberblau installed both the flying systems in the Hamburg theater and a total of 25 launching points from which the actors jump in order to swing across the stage on ropes. Even the lighting technicians have the specialists from Kissing to thank for their safe positions, and have been equipped with their own workstations and repositioned nests in the auditorium. Numerous fly bar hoists in the upper machinery above the stage – which consist, among other elements, of a DELTA winch, rope pulleys and a load bar from Pfaff-silberblau – hold and move the scenery; their position can be adjusted flexibly on rails. The team of Pfaff-silberblau engineers realized the project, including the steelwork, in a near-record time of just two weeks. The modification of the stage top machinery for the “Tarzan” musical was not the first project Pfaff-silberblau had carried out in the Stage Theater “Neue Flora”. Back in 2001, the stage technology specialist installed DELTA winches that had been specially constructed for the Hamburg theater. These heavy-duty winches, some of which can take loads of up to 1,800 kg, have been used to smoothly and reliably operate even extremely slowly progressing choreographic elements of stage design, such as the moon rising.

About Columbus McKinnon and Pfaff-silberblau Columbus McKinnon Engineered Products GmbH, based in Kissing near Augsburg (Germany), is a part of the Columbus McKinnon Corporation (CMCO), based in Amherst (USA). Its brands Pfaff-silberblau and ALLTEC Antriebstechnik are among the technological leaders in the field of solution-oriented lifting and material handling equipment as well as drive technology and stage technology. Its sister company, Columbus McKinnon Industrial Products GmbH, based in Velbert (Germany), is featuring the brands Yale and Pfaff-silberblau and offers high-quality standardized lifting and material handling equipment for ergonomically appropriate and safe lifting, shifting, positioning and fixing of heavy loads. In Germany, Columbus McKinnon currently employs approximately 370 people; worldwide, the group has more than 2,600 employees at 55 locations and sites in 19 countries. You can find further information on Columbus McKinnon and its brands Pfaff-silberblau, ALLTEC Antriebstechnik and Yale at http://www.cmco.eu/pfaff-silberblau.