LOTTE World Tower in Seoul

SBZ 151 used in the construction of mega skyscraper LOTTE World Tower in Seoul

Mühlacker/Seoul. 555 metres high, with 123 floors and 304,000 square metres of space, the Lotte World Tower in the east of Seoul is the tallest skyscraper in South Korea and towers elegantly over the city. Officially opened on 3 April 2017, it is the fifth tallest building in the world. And Tostem, an elumatec customer, was involved in its construction, making particular use of the elumatec SBZ 151 profile machining centre to manufacture curtain walls and aluminium windows for the tower.

Tostem production: elumatec inside. Work involves the SBZ 151, SBZ 150, SBZ 130 and many more machines.
Image copyright: elumatec Korea Co Ltd., Gyeonggi-do, South Korea

“Ultra-high quality and quick delivery times”

LG Tostem BM is a subsidiary of LG Hausys, part of Korean conglomerate LG, whose business relationship with elumatec stretches back more than 20 years. Tostem was founded in 2009 as LG Chemical and employs around 130 people at its headquarters in Chungju, south of Seoul, producing high-quality aluminium window systems and curtain walls.

“Our work primarily focuses on large construction companies in Korea”, says RYU Young-Suk, Production Manager at Tostem. “These customers particularly value ultra-high quality and quick delivery times when handling projects.” The elumatec SBZ 151 profile machining centre therefore played a prominent role in the construction of the Lotte World Tower. “We needed a high level of precision, and 3D machining gives us that. That was a reason for us to use elumatec machines.” The Tostem manager explains that using the SBZ 151 reduced the error rate by 20 per cent. “Productivity increased by 30 per cent and our delivery times were significantly quicker”, he adds.

The all-rounder redesigned, eluCloud ready and with a new-generation control system, ergonomic control unit and optimized clamping concept.

Image copyright: elumatec AG, Mühlacker

Elegant design

Using the SBZ 151, Tostem played its part in ensuring the Lotte World Tower was completed on time in March 2016 after just over four years of construction work. The tower was designed in a postmodern style by US architecture firm Kohn Pedersen Fox and resembles a traditional Korean brush, with a square ground floor giving way to a narrower point at the top of the building. The steel design around the outside helps give the tower its elegant appearance, and the glass-clad structure divides into two halves, gradually tapering as it reaches a height of 555 metres. The building is home to the six star Signiel Seoul Hotel, offering luxurious apartments and rooms, and features a viewing platform on the top six floors which is now in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s highest glass-floored viewing platform. 

The Lotte World Tower is a typical example of the challenges modern architecture poses for manufacturers. “Building structures are becoming more and more complex”, says Hyun-Sik Kim, Managing Director of elumatec Korea, and this also applies to the outer shells of buildings, which must be better insulated and protected against moisture. elumatec is the ideal partner for Tostem, as the two companies can discuss how to meet these demands as equal partners and develop a solution by working together. “elumatec staff are proud of their company and their products. We discussed all questions relating to the project openly and solved the problems as partners”, says Tostem manager RYU  Young-Suk, who particularly appreciates the elumatec team’s round-the-clock availability to resolve all urgent issues.

Lotte World Tower: South Korea’s tallest skyscraper rises 555 metres into the sky above Seoul.

Image copyright: KoreaKHW / Shutterstock.com

The SBZ 151 – the quick, efficient all-rounder

The elumatec SBZ 151 profile machining centre was specially designed for economical and efficient machining of aluminium and thin-walled steel profiles. The Lotte World Tower is just one of many large-scale projects in which the 5-axis machining centre has proved its efficiency, with others including the construction of the dome of the Louvre Abu Dhabi. The SBZ 151 machines profiles on all sides while allowing simultaneous sawing, its on-board tool changers reduce tool changing times, and the machining unit can be positioned using dynamic servo drives running at up to 60 m/min. A further advantage is the eluCad software, which programmes and loads machining steps to the SBZ, specifies a selection of tools which keeps changes to a minimum, and calculates the shortest traverse paths between machining points. No reclamping of the profile bar is required for any manufacturing step, ensuring the most time-efficient machining possible at all times.

To find out more about the SBZ 151 profile machining centre, visit our website.

45 degree saws: The SBZ 151 has an A-axis pivoting range from -110° to +110° (with a 400 mm saw blade diameter).

Image copyright: elumatec AG, Mühlacker

About elumatec AG

elumatec AG is a global leader in the manufacturing of machines for processing aluminium, PVC and steel profiles. With its extensive product range, the company covers the entire spectrum of applications from small craftsman’s businesses to industrial profile processors. Custom-designed and modular machinery concepts provide flexible and individualised industry solutions for all groups of customers. The company, which is headquartered in the Swabian town of Mühlacker and was founded in 1928, has subsidiaries and dealers in more than 50 countries, employs over 700 people worldwide and achieved consolidated sales of over 130 million euros in 2017.