The rush-hour before Christmas: Dismantling and installation of escalators in a shopping center

A home fixture for the Chemnitz SCHOLPP team: Two escalators were being replaced during work at the Chemnitz Center, the city’s largest shopping center. The client was thyssenkrupp Fahrtreppen GmbH from Hamburg, one of SCHOLPP’s long-standing clients. The popular shopping center that is densely populated with retail outlets had a number of logistical challenges in store for the fitters in the pre-Christmas period.

The conversion of a retail outlet for off-price fashion and home accessory retailer TK Maxx also included the modernization of the escalator technology. This particular project was a short commute for the escalator team of four fitters: The construction site was just eight kilometers by highway from the Chemnitz SCHOLPP site. Just two days had been set aside for dismantling the old escalators, with two additional days to install the new ones. So every move needed to be perfect.

Two days for removal, two days for bringing in

The two old escalators (weighing in at almost 7 metric tons) were completely removed and disposed of in an environmentally friendly manner, which saved a considerable amount of time. Given that the escalators each measured almost 13 meters in length, however, the spatial conditions in the building were really limited in terms of both the maneuverability at the removal site and the store entrance as well as the height of the shopping center entrance. Thanks to special transport technology such as the Manghi (small mobile crane), the 6-metric-ton forklift and the heavy-duty trolleys, a logistical solution was drawn up that allowed the team to pass through these narrow spaces quickly and skillfully.

The two new thyssenkrupp escalators were delivered using a semi-trailer and a low-loader. The new escalators were unloaded and transferred into the building using the same technology as was used to remove the old ones. The shopping center’s Christmas market was also being set up during this time, causing further restrictions in terms of both time and space. The two new escalators were positioned and aligned using aluminum gantries with a high load capacity as well as synchronizing chain hoists and various pieces of installation equipment.

An experienced team guarantees safe and on-time logistics

Having delivery traffic, bus traffic and a flow of shoppers to contend with when bringing in and removing equipment, not forgetting the simultaneous setup of the Christmas market and the tight spatial conditions, placed high demands on the installation planning, the execution, and the implementation of safety precautions. But with an experienced team and the right equipment, the project was completely within the designated four days and followed the client’s specifications to the letter.