Twinkle Toes
Twinkle Toes is the largest excavator in the Southern Hemisphere. It is used in Christchurch to demolish tall buildings following the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes.
History and description
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The excavator is based on a 2008 Liebherr 984 that was heavily modified by Kocurek Excavators Ltd for the Birmingham-based demolition Coleman & Company.[1] It was bought for around NZ$4m[2] and imported to New Zealand by Auckland-based demolition firm Nikau Contractors, and arrived in the Port of Lyttelton in September 2011.[3][4][5][6] The tracked excavator weighs 208 tonnes (205 long tons; 229 short tons) and has a maximum reach of 65 metres (213 ft).[6] When the articulated arm is not extended, the reach is 25 metres (82 ft). The excavator is not suited for demolishing the bottom two storeys of a building.[5] At full reach, a 2.5 tonnes (2.5 long tons; 2.8 short tons) demolition attachment can be fitted to the hydraulic boom. At 40 metres (130 ft) reach, the machine can handle a 6 tonnes (5.9 long tons; 6.6 short tons) concrete breaker.[4] The excavator got its nickname following a naming competition on Christchurch radio station More FM.[4]
Demolitions
- Early November 2011 - Office building on the corner of Liverpool and Cashel Streets in early November 2011.[7]
- Late November 2011 - Headquarters of AMI Insurance in Latimer Square.[5]
- Early 2012 - Hotel Grand Chancellor, Christchurch, second tallest building in Christchurch.[8]
- September 2012 - PricewaterhouseCoopers building in Armagh Street. Largest building in Chrischurch by mass.[9]
- September/October 2012 - Farmers car parking building in Gloucester Street.
- Mid/late October 2012 - Holiday Inn on the corner of Cashel and High Streets in mid October 2012.[10]
- Late 2012/early 2013 - Westpac Canterbury Centre.
- Date not known - Ibis House, Hereford Street.[11]
See also
List of tallest buildings in Christchurch
References
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Twinkle Toes (excavator). |
- ↑ "Exclusive – UK's biggest high reach bound for NZ". Demolition News. 11 August 2012. Retrieved 14 September 2012.
- ↑ Palmer, Kloe (2 November 2011). "Massive digger called on to help in Christchurch". 3 News. Retrieved 14 September 2012.
- ↑ Stylianou, Georgina (7 September 2011). "Big digger for Christchurch demo". The Press. Retrieved 14 September 2012.
- 1 2 3 "Excavators". Nikau Contractors. Retrieved 14 September 2012.
- 1 2 3 Wright, Michael (16 November 2011). "Twinkle Toes tackles largest project to date". The Press. Retrieved 13 September 2012.
- 1 2 Wright, Michael (17 November 2011). "Firms target high-rise buildings". The Press. Retrieved 13 September 2012.
- ↑ Schwede66 (5 November 2011). "File:Liverpool Street 06.jpg". Wikimedia Commons. Retrieved 13 September 2012.
- ↑ "Hotel Grand Chancellor". Emporis GmbH. Retrieved 14 September 2012.
- ↑ Grenhill, Marc (30 August 2012). "PWC building comes down". The Press. Retrieved 14 September 2012.
- ↑ Gates, Charlie (13 September 2012). "Twinkle Toes checks in". The Press. Retrieved 14 September 2012.
- ↑ "Commercial". Nikau Contractors. Retrieved 15 June 2013.