ŽDB Drátovna’s ropery has completed a prestigious contract for the biggest attraction of the High Tatra Mountains.
When one says words like „vacation“ or „holiday“, a trip to the mountains might be what comes to your mind instantly. If you go to the High Tatras and take the ropeway to the second highest peak of the mountains called Lomnický štít, you can enjoy a beautiful view thanks to the workers of ŽDB Drátovna. One of the biggest attractions of the High Tatras is equipped with a special towing rope recently produced in the factory located in Bohumín.
The rope which is 4200 m long has the sole purpose to pull the ropeway. Its diameter is 26.5 mm and it weighs 10 710 kg. „We produce the towing rope for the ropeway Skalnaté Pleso – Lomnický štít on a regular basis. Usually, it is needed to change such rope after 6 years of its operation,“ says head of sales of ŽDB ropery Jiří Foltyn. Furthermore, he adds the value of the contract exceeds 800 000 CZK.
„We produce the towing rope for the ropeway Skalnaté Pleso – Lomnický štít on a regular basis. Usually, it is needed to change such rope after 6 years of its operation,“
Head of sales of ŽDB ropery Jiří Foltyn
The construction of the ropeway started in the spring of 1936. Next year, the first section leading from Tatranská Lomnica to Skalnaté pleso was put into operation. Another section from Skalnaté pleso to Lomnický štít began its operation in 1940. The first section was shut down in 1999.
The ropeway with cabins carrying up to 16 passengers covers the length of 1867 m and the elevation difference of 855 m. The only pylon located close to the upper station supports the rope. The biggest height between the ropeway and ground is 255 m. A 4t cabin which is hanging from the pair of supporting steel wire ropes (diameter 33 mm) is pulled up to the peak by our towing rope in 530 seconds. Today, there is a weather station, a restaurant, a café and a small botanical garden on the top of the mountain.
Thanks to the ropeway, 100 000 visitors visit the peak of Lomnický štít each year. Most of them would not get there otherwise. Operation conditions of the ropeway allow the maximum stay of 50 minutes on the top. The scenic terrases offer a truly impressive view of the High Tatras, the Low Tatras, Spiš, the mountain ranges of Eastern Slovakia. If the visibility is extraordinary, it is possible to see mountains in Hungary, Hoverla in Ukraine or even Sněžka in the Czech Krkonoše mountains, located 360 km from Lomnický štít.
The production of the rope itself took two weeks. It began by winding the wires produced by high carbon mill of our company on the machine reels. The next step was the production of outer strands of the rope and the production of the polypropylene core. The last operation is assembling the outer strands with the polypropylene core resulting in a completed rope.
„The rope was produced according to the special standard EN 12385-8 for ropeways carrying persons. We have a special certificate for production of these special ropes,“ says Jiří Foltyn. The cargo weighting 12 tons was dispatched on a strengthened wooden reel with the dimensions 200 x 120 cm. „The transport from Bohumín to Tatranská Lomnica took 6 hours,“ concluded the head of sales.
The ropery was established in 1951. Its original purpose was to produce mining ropes for mines located nearby. Given the gradual decline of mining in the Czech Republic and expansion of the machinery, the ropery started to concentrate on different segments as well, such as special crane ropes, ropes for ropeways and skilifts, fishing ropes and general purpose ropes.
Nowadays, the annual production of ŽDB Drátovna (daughter company of Moravia Steel) is around 6 kilotons. More than 95 % of the production is exported. Mostly to Germany, the countries of Benelux, Poland and the UK. Among others, the buyers are also from the US, China, Singapore, Morocco or the UAE.