ThyssenKrupp Elevadores Supplies Bourbon Shopping Wallig in Brazil

Various vertical-transportation units were provided for this shopping center, which opened in the midst of Brazil’s shopping-center boom.

The Bourbon Shopping Wallig in Porto Alegre, Brazil, capital of the Rio Grande do Sul state, opened on April 26. This Zaffari Group development was equipped with various ThyssenKrupp Elevadores equipment, including 24 escalators, 12 elevators and two moving walks. The units transport visitors throughout the facility, which features retail stores, cinemas, restaurants, a supermarket and a food court.

Brazilian Shopping Center Boom: Beneficial to the Elevator Industry

The project is significant, because it refers to a special sector of the Brazilian building industry – shopping centers, a niche that has been growing steadily over recent years. Previously, there were just two or three shopping centers in Brazil’s capital cities such as São Paulo. Today, there is one mall in every district of the city. This phenomenon also occurs in smaller cities throughout the Brazilian states. Each urban center has its own mall, enabling residents to shop locally, rather than make trips to the major cities.

The shopping-center market in Brazil is expected to grow by 13.5% in comparison to 2011. It is important to consider that the motor of this boom is the improved purchasing capacity of Brazilians, in addition to the low unemployment rate. Consequently, sales reached 18.6% in 2011 compared to those registered in 2010. Additional sources indicate 11,000 stores will open in 470 shopping centers by the end of 2012, and previsions indicate the latter figure will climb to 499 in 2013. The vacancy rate is only 1.5%, but occupancy is 100% in most cases.

It is also remarkable that most new commercial developments are built in cities with up to 500,000 inhabitants, which is the new market tendency. In 2012, a 12.6% sales increase is expected, with more than 80,200 stores opening in 43 new malls, 29 of which will be located in inland cities.

Consumer classes A and B (with higher purchasing capacities) are responsible for more than 50% of sales in shopping centers. However, prospective shoppers classified in classes C and D are increasingly present among visitors. The monthly traffic in these centers is estimated to be 376 million people.

It is clear this boom will provide a significant source of business for the elevator industry, as these shopping centers will require vertical transportation in significant amounts.

Bourbon Shopping Wallig Elevators

ThyssenKrupp Elevadores supplied and installed 12 Frequencedyne Gold elevators with different characteristics and uses in the Bourbon Shopping Wallig, four of which are located in the mall and serve the venue’s public visitors. The elevators stop at nine floors: the underground parking lot, the ground floor where the hypermarket is located, three store landings and four stops that access the upper garages. They travel at 2 mps and can transport 20 passengers. The elevators are equipped with TKVsion software, a traffic-control system that monitors all the elevators on the premises. Located in the supervising room, it features different functions such as a maintenance scheduling program and statistical call analysis. TK-921 Plus 1, a digital position indicator and TK-31V, a digital voice electronic system that indicates the arrival landing (useful for passengers with visual problems) are included. The cars are model Art Collection in stainless steel with a 2.7-m door clearance and feature High Protection vandalism-resistant push buttons.

ThyssenKrupp Elevadores also provided six Frequencedyne elevators (with dimensions similar to those of a bed lift) used to transport the supermarket carts. Their heavy-duty Skylux cars have a capacity of 20 persons and travel at a speed of 1.5 mps, and the car gates are 2.4-m high. The elevators are also equipped with TKVsion, TK-921 Plus 1 and TK-31V electronic devices. They are used exclusively by the store owners and assistants and serve the ground floor, store landings and upper garages. One of the elevators stops at only two landings traveling at 0.75 mps. With a gate clearance of 2.2 m, it is used to travel from the underground to the hypermarket.

The gearless Frequencedyne elevator is exclusively for mall administration. It has a capacity of 10 passengers and is capable of reaching a speed of up to 1.5 ms. The system reduces energy usage and does not require oil. In this case, ThyssenKrupp supplied an Amazon car finished with brushed stainless steel, Soft-Press push buttons and LED illumination.

Escalators and Moving Walks

Escalators and moving walks are essential for shopping centers due to their transportation capacity and utility. While riding the escalators, visitors get a general view of the venue. Their usually strategic location forces visitors to walk near the stores in search of the next escalator.

ThyssenKrupp Elevadores also installed 24 of its Velino escalators that can carry 9,000 passengers per hour. The balustrades are built with 10-mm-thick tempered glass. The escalators are equipped with safety devices such as lateral step brushes to avoid entrapments and illumination on the steps’ upper edges. The motor and variable-voltage, variable-frequency systems operate according to passenger flow to save energy. This equipment enables visitors to access all store and parking levels.

The same operating system used for the escalators controls the two Orinoco moving walks installed in the supermarket. Specially designed for heavy-duty use, the units make the transportation of heavily loaded carts easy. With a modern design that includes glass balustrades, they can transport 9,000 passengers per hour.

This report is just one example of the volume of shopping-center construction and the vertical-transportation industry in Brazil.

Acknowledgments

Isabel Silvares (Rouxinol Comunica- ção) and Valdemir Soares de Bitencourt (photographer)