The Swedish city of Gothenburg will grow by almost one third to 2035. There is a need for space for 150,000 new residents and 80,000 new homes and workplaces. Part of the plan is the Karlastaden, a district where Gothenburg's new landmark, Karlatornet is being built.
The construction work around the construction of Karlatornet, Gothenburg's first skyscraper, began as early as 2017. Thomas Concrete Group and its subsidiary in Sweden, Thomas Betong, have been involved in the work of developing the right concrete products and logistics solutions for this complicated project.
The construction of the 245-metre high Karlatornet begins already 70 metres below the ground. The research and development department of Thomas Concrete Group and Thomas Betong have jointly developed tailor-made products with high demands on workability and 10-12 hours opening hours to cope with the casting of the 58, 70-metre deep piles that Karlatornet will rest on. The casting of the piles was finalised in December 2018.
At the end of May, the 3.8-metre-thick foundation was casted and Thomas Betong delivered 3,900m³ of custom-made concrete products for 23 hours non-stop. The products were created based on high demands on compressive strength, workability and low heat development. Thanks to Thomas Betong's experience with concrete with lower CO₂ footprint, the emission of 428 tonnes of carbon dioxide could be prevented. The delivery not only required special products, but also advanced logistics solutions with concrete trucks and pump vehicles and just over 100 technical tests.
“We know concrete and have worked with concrete for over 60 years. With our technical resources in Gothenburg but also in the U.S., we have a lot of knowledge and expertise for this kind of technically complex project. It feels really good that we can utilize our experience and contribute to the development of the future Gothenburg,” said Hans Karlander, president and CEO of Thomas Concrete Group.
Karlatornet foundation casting facts:
150 employees from Team Thomas were involved
23 hours of constant casting
3 plants produced 3900m³ of concrete
38 concrete trucks were used non-stop
650 concrete deliveries
10 pump operators
5 concrete pumps
9 technicians run 127 technical tests
