After the devastating fire catastrophies in the Mont-Blanc tunnel, the Tauern tunnel and the Gotthard tunnel, the EU reacted by enacting the Directive 2004/54/EG „Road Tunnel Safety in the Trans-European Road Network“ which set new standards in regard to fire protection.

A comprehensive retrofit of the first, second and third bore of the 3,325 metre long tunnel was started in early 2009 to comply with the new directive and to improve safety in the Hamburg Elbe tunnel. TROX is supplying 410 tunnel dampers for smoke extract as part of the fire protection retrofit.

The dampers are made of stainless steel and must withstand a temperature of 400 °C for 90 minutes. TROX, who is able to convince with a large number of references, is the ideal partner for compliance with the rigid requirements for fire protection. For example, the Mrazovka Tunnel in the CzechRepublic and the Vielha Tunnel in Spain were fitted with TROX fire dampers. The ADAC (German automotive society) tunnel test in the „Ventilation“ category rated both tunnels „very good“.

This year's STUVA Conference will take place on December 1-3, 2009 at the Congress Center Hamburg (CCH) with various topics regarding tunnelling.

At an accompanying exhibition on December 1-2, 2009, TROX will present a wide range of certified TROX products for fire and smoke protection as well as worldwide references for tunnel dampers. One of the highlights at the TROX booth (hall H / booth 508) will be an original smoke extract dampers from the Elbe tunnel in operation. Furthermore TROX informs about Europe's most advanced fire test laboratory, the TROX International Center Fire Protection. STUVA is an independent, non-profit research institution for underground transportation facilities.

TROX is the leader in the development, manufacturing, and sales of components and systems for indoor ventilation and air conditioning.

With 25 subsidiaries across 22 countries and 14 production plants, TROX is the European market leader for ventilation and air-conditioning systems and enjoys worldwide success. Founded in 1951, TROX, which has 3,000 employees, earned more than EUR 380 million in revenues worldwide in 2008. With more than 25 sales offices and over 50 representatives and importers, TROX products and concepts are known all over the globe.

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