Abacus Rises To The Occasion In Qatar

Online, April 22, 2010 (Newswire.com) - The new, world-class stadium, home to the Qatar National Olympic Committee (QOC), has been designed with four corner turret structures around the football field which mimic the original Al Shamal fort itself. In order to retain its traditional appearance, Abacus developed the telescopic masts to sit inside the four turrets. Towering to an impressive 43m, they will disappear down inside the turrets when not in use, allowing the stadium to maintain its low profile.

Abacus' Export Director, John Anthony, said: "After more than two years in development, we are thrilled to see these original telescopic masts, in situ and to establish ourselves as world leaders in the design and manufacture of these systems."

The stadium hosts international and national football matches, but is also used by the local community. It is part of the QOC's vision for Qatar to "be a leading nation in bringing the world together through sport".

The floodlighting for Al Shamal has been designed to meet HDTV standards of 2,000lux for TV transmissions and the masts will each carry up to 105 Abacus Challenger® 3 2kW floodlights.

John added: "The telescopic range used in this project was developed specifically to minimise the impact of the floodlighting on the beautiful Qatar skyline and to retain the visual impact of this iconic stadium. We are continually looking at ways to improve our lighting ranges and a key part of our service is the ability to help our customers overcome challenges in planning or on an environmental level."

Abacus' stadium telescopic masts were also installed at both Lord's and The Brit Oval cricket stadiums in 2009, towering up to 50m and carrying up to 100 2kW floodlights each.

The floodlighting and the mast operation has been designed to be completely managed using touch screen technology. John said: "The innovative system is actually capable of using an online interface which means that, in the near future, we could actually monitor and control the floodlighting and masts from a desktop in the UK if necessary. The floodlights link up to real time data exchanges and let operators know when maintenance is needed and ensures light output is operating at optimum performance."

The project, in partnership with Insha of Qatar, signifies a continuation of Abacus' success in Qatar. Over the past 30 years, the company has carried out several major floodlighting installations including Dohar Golf Club and Al Saad Stadium, a venue for the Asian Games 2007, as well as regular ongoing business with Qatar Petroleum.

As well as Qatar, the company has strong markets across the Middle East. Projects to date include the lighting of the Nad al Sheeba racecourse in Dubai; the Emirates Dubai Rugby Sevens stadium redevelopment and the Emirates Palace football pitch.

Abacus has also dominated golf course floodlighting in the Middle East and has installed its floodlights at nearly every course in Dubai. The latest course to benefit from Abacus' expertise was the new Nick Faldo Course which is situated at the Dubai Emirates Golf Club.