Up in the air with the Shard

Prysmian has won a contract to supply more than £1 million of electrical cables to the Shard at London Bridge. The skyscraper will be the tallest building in Western Europe and will include office space, world-class hotels, luxury apartments, restaurants and cafes.

Prysmian will supply Fire Performance FP600S cable, Afumex – Low Smoke Zero Halogen cables and Medium Voltage cables. Prysmian has been selected as overall supplier both for cables and components such as glands and cleats also due to products with BASEC and LPCB approval. The company will also provide the construction company with support and advice on best practice during installation.

Jonathan Sloam, Prysmian UK Business Manager, says: "We are naturally delighted to be associated with such an important landmark development as the Shard. Winning this contract is testament to the hard work of all my colleagues, from manufacturing to sales, and confirms our belief that we are the best cable manufacturer in the business".

Designed in 2000 by Italian architect Renzo Piano, work on the Shard started in March 2009 and will be completed in 2012. It will replace the old Southwark Towers, a 24-storey office building of 1976. London Bridge Station and the surrounding areas will also be improved as part of this redevelopment.

Prysmian has installed its fire resistant and Afumex (low fire-hazard) cables in several prestigious worldwide locations where fire safety is a very critical requirement like the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building, the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao and, more recently, the Drax Power Station in UK, the largest renewable biomass co-firing project anywhere in the world and the Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires, Argentina, a historic national monument and one of the best theatres in the world.