Industry firms supply Burj Khalifa

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES — Several industry manufacturers announced that they have supplied products for the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building. The building, designed by architect Adrian Smith of the Chicago firm Skidmore Owings & Merrill, officially opened in January.

The Burj Khalifa is more than 2,700 feet high and can be seen from 60 miles away. It’s more than twice the size of the Empire State Building. The middle of the Burj Khalifa has a public observation deck and shop, and there is a 160-room hotel that will occupy the lower part of the tower. There are also more than 1,000 apartments, 49 floors of office space and 58 elevators that can travel 10 meters per second.

Charlotte Pipe & Foundry Co. announced that it supplied all of the cast iron DWV piping for the structure. The firm has been doing business internationally for years, and is said it is gaining a reputation for quality and service. The company has seen growing sales and distribution in Mexico, Central and South America as well as the Middle East.

German bathroom fittings and shower manufacturer Hans Grohe supplied more than 5,000 fittings for the 828-meter skyscraper. The washbasin mixers came from Hans Grohe’s Axor Starck luxury collection.

Noting its extensive third party testing for seismic events, Victaulic said its couplings were used in the Burj Khalifa, as well as the Burj Al-Arab Hotel and Jumirah Beach Hotel in Dubai. These facilities face seismic concerns, and the use of Victaulic couplings helped engineers accommodate for seismic and other building movements, such as sway, settlement, expansion, and contraction that the piping system may experience.