Columbus McKinnon Engineered Products GmbH at Showtech 2013, Hall 2, Stand C70 (18 to 20 June, Berlin)

Stage technology from Pfaff-silberblau upgrades old Russian cinema into modern Pushkinsky Musical Theatre

Kissing/Germany, 18 June 2013 – The renovation and equipping of theatres and musical venues with powerful and reliable theatre engineering of the Pfaff-silberblau brand is part and parcel of everyday business for Columbus McKinnon Engineered Products GmbH of Kissing, Germany. By contrast, the complete upgrade of an ageing cinema into a state-of-the-art musical stage is a somewhat unusual challenge. The specialists for stage technology recently helped to turn the old-established Moscow Pushkinskaja cinema into an ultra-modern Pushkinsky Musical Theatre – along with professional project planning and engineering work plus modern stage technology equipment. Project planning expertise from Pfaff-silberblau The retrofit of the old cinema called for a number of fundamental changes. By way of example, a proscenium wall had to be installed, which not only separates the stage from the auditorium, but which also has a fire protection function in the event of an emergency. A key factor, however, was the installation of the centrepiece of the new Musical Theatre – namely, the stage tower. Its design presented the engineers from Kissing with a number of unusual challenges, requiring them to draw on their long experience in stage technology. For example, only yellowed paper drawings were available by way of building plans for the theatre, which had to be painstakingly digitalised and compared with actual dimensions to obtain a realistic 3D model. Further complicating matters was the specification from the building authorities according to which the existing steel structures of the roof were not allowed to be loaded. Structural analysis of the load capacities of struts and sole plates were no longer available, however, and had to be redone in collaboration with German and Russian structural engineers in order to divert the massive structural and dynamic loads properly into the structure and as such into the foundation. Stage tower with Pfaff-silberblau stage technology The result of the engineering and subsequent installation work has impressive dimensions. The completely self-supporting steel structure for moving items of stage technology equipment is over 24 m long, 17 m deep and 16.5 m high. Altogether, the stage tower of the Pushkinsky Musical Theatre – whose steel frame also comprises the safety curtain, parts of the proscenium wall that had to be built on site plus access staircases and scaffolds – weighs over 50 tons. Stage technology products from Pfaff-silberblau also quite literally have a role to play here. Besides the control, the stage tower also carries the DELTA winches specially developed for theatre use along with the tried-and-tested manual counterweight winches from Pfaff-silberblau. Implementation in less than six months As so often with stage technology projects by Columbus McKinnon, the implementation deadline was extremely short: For the engineering, procurement, transportation and installation, the specialists from Kissing had no more than six months from the placing of the order through to the handover of the theatre. For this reason, it was important – even during the implementation of the project planning and structural analyses – to produce the steel parts, winches and control, to ensure the logistics for all the bought-in parts and to press on with the dismantling on site as well as to initiate the preliminary measures for the start of the installation and assembly work. In the end, Columbus McKinnon succeeded in handing over the new stage technology of the Pushkinsky Musical Theatre to the client even a week before the contractually agreed deadline. Further information on stage technology lifting equipment and system solutions from Columbus McKinnon Engineered Products and reference projects is available online at http://www.pfaff-silberblau.com/engineered-solutions/stage-technology.

About Columbus McKinnon Engineered Products The company Columbus McKinnon Engineered Products GmbH, Kissing/Germany, has ranked with its brands Pfaff-silberblau and Alltec Antriebstechnik for many decades amongst the technology leaders in components and system solutions for mechanical motion and lifting technology. The portfolio ranges from sophisticated screw jack elements to innovative linear drives through to powerful lifting tables and wire rope winches. On the basis of these components, Columbus McKinnon Engineered Products also offers customised solutions for a wide range of different fields of application. Columbus McKinnon Engineered Products is a subsidiary of the listed Columbus McKinnon Corporation (CMCO), Amherst/USA, a leading supplier of lifting and materials handling equipment. Worldwide, the Group has around 2,600 employees at 18 production sites in seven countries and at 52 other company branches. Further information on Columbus McKinnon Engineered Products along with its brands Pfaff-silberblau and Alltec Antriebstechnik is available online at www.pfaff-silberblau.com.