11/14/2016
Double-K Towers recently installed the tallest in the world tilt up meteorological tower measuring impressive 140 meters (460 feet). This is another great achievement for a family own company with presence in 11 countries on 3 continents (North America, Europe and Asia). The CEO Chris Kowalak credits continuous investment in product development and innovation for their success on the market. The latest design combines the best features of all currently available meteorological towers: ease of assembly and decommissioning for transport and relocation, adjustable height, climbability and most importantly lower cost of product and installation.
The towers are equipped with anemometers, wind vanes, power supply systems, heating sensors, a safety wire for climbing and are compliant with Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) safety guidelines; they have obstruction lights and are appropriately painted. The aluminium lattice design allows easy transportation and on site assembly of the structure before it is tilted-up in to position and mounted on a steel base plate. The permanent installation versions are available, however more commonly a temporary option is chosen; the tower is disassembled at the end of the contract and moved to a new location or stored for future use. The process of relocation is relatively simple; this is in contrast to modified communication towers, which are not designed for that purpose; they are heavy and cement bound. The aluminium lattice towers can be claimed by the engineers to allow repair and servicing or replacement of the instruments, which is a main advantage over the wind power industry specific meteorological towers of tubular design. In addition, tubular towers do not typically exceed 80 meets, which is below the hub heights of the latest wind turbines. Double-K Towers offer 100, 120 and now 140 meters tall meteorological masts, as well as, popular in the past, shorter versions. The taller towers are flexible in design due to their segmented structure; the element(s) can be removed to create a shorter version, if required. Technical support is available and includes the installation and constant monitoring of the system.
Daniel Zajchowski COO believes that the new design can revolutionise the wind industry market: “we offer product, which is capable of performing measurements at previously unreachable heights by tilt up towers. The flexibility of the design allows multiple uses for the same structures, repair or replacement of the measurement equipment, which significantly lower the cost not only of the tower itself but the whole life cycle of the whole project. This is a very attractive for individuals or start-up planning to invest in the wind industry, as well as already established corporations, which can recycle the same pool towers on different projects.”
