42nd Heilbronn Elevator Days

A review of the event and an interview

photos by liftreport magazine

The 42nd Heilbronn Elevator Days took place on March 11 and 12 at the Harmonie Heilbronn in Heilbronn, Germany, and offered the elevator industry a platform for exchanging ideas on current developments and challenges. Under the direction of Dipl.-Ing. Klaus Dietel, numerous presentations were given, which thematically focused on digitalization and the human factor.

Eberhard Vogler from TK Elevator opened the event with an overview of existing and new European directives and standards. A valuable contribution, even though he himself said. “This is one possible scenario – I can’t guarantee that it will happen…” Georg Theisen from TÜV Rheinland then explained the possibilities and challenges of the upcoming EN ISO 8100-1/-2. Both lectures certainly provided a good overview of the regulations for elevator manufacturers.

A special highlight was the lecture by Hans-Martin Lutz from LUTZ Elevators, who reported on the technology and adventures of elevators at sea. An impressive variety of products are offered by the medium-sized traditional company. One can imagine that cruise ships, container ships or even warships are exposed to very special stresses —Lutz also made this clear with the help of moving images. Katrin Schwickal and Alexander Walker from RIEDL Aufzugsbau dedicated their lecture to the task of acquiring specialist personnel, Michael Löffler from AFAG provided information about the upcoming interlift trade fair in Nuremberg and Georg Claus from the Technical Academy Heilbronn gave insights about the origin and development of the Heilbronner Aufzugtage. 

The focus was also on technical innovations: Henry Knop from INTEC presented the digital safety circuit, which is currently being tested and may be available to order at interlift 2025. Rudolf Ramseier and Stephan Rohr from Cobianchi Liftteile also whetted appetites for the upcoming interlift 2025: They revealed that new products would be presented there. The development of the company over time was described, as were safety components and safety gear. From locking safety gear to progressive safety gear to double-acting safety gear to electrically released safety gear — the title of the lecture. The potential for product features of a mechatronic safety gear was considered, and a discussion about it was encouraged. 

On the second day of the event, Prof. Dr. Marco Wagner from Heilbronn University of Applied Sciences presented how embedded AI in elevators leads to greater sustainability and energy efficiency. It was very interesting to learn about the different types and potentials of AI from a primary source. Are they discriminative, predicative, generative? 

Dr. Peter Hug from VDMA gave an overview of regulations for digitalization, including the Data Act and the Cyber Resilience Act. Frank Schmidt from the elevator company Schmitt+Sohn showed possibilities for modernizing elevators according to SAEL criteria, especially with regard to the cooperation between maintenance companies and operators. Philipp John from BGHM emphasized the importance of proper employee training for safe work on elevator systems. 

After lunch, Luisa Runge from Schindler Germany discussed aspects of sustainable elevators, including energy efficiency, carbon footprint and wooden construction. The final speakers were Eva Adam-Kravitsch and Thilo Gotthardt from DEKRA, who shared their practical experiences with firefighter elevators in accordance with TRBS 1201-T4 and VDI 3809 Sheet 2: How extensive is the testing of these functions? 

The event offered plenty of opportunity for questions and discussions with the speakers, including during the evening event at the Harmonie in Heilbronn. An accompanying trade exhibition in the foyer allowed for the exchange of information on innovations and industry trends.

Interview with Rudolf Ramseier and Stephan Rohr – Cobianchi Liftteile AG

Since 1997, your author has been involved in lift design and followed Cobianchi’s presence in the market with interest. The company’s ability to adapt to market requirements is remarkable, be it the introduction of EN 81 with SAFÜ, the 81.1/2 A3 with requirements for UCM and the like or now with its latest innovation — the electrically released safety gear, which was presented at interlift 2023. Now, at Heilbronner Aufzugstage, the company has shown the direction in which it wants to develop with the mechatronic safety gear, and your author (SG) had the chance to discuss this with Rudolf Ramseier (RR) and Stephan Rohr (SR).

RR: Thank you for the introductory words. We have transformed ourselves from a trading company to a manufacturing company for brake safety gears. My passion is mechanical engineering; my passion is safety gear; that’s what I do. I also had a passion for gearboxes until 2001 from Volpi. After that, we focused exclusively on the production of safety gear.

We developed single-action safety gears; we then launched the first double-acting safety gears in 1999; we looked at the A3 10 years later and at the electrically released safety gear another 10 years later. Our aim has been to bring an electrically released safety catch to market since 2007. 

We tried to do that with the AS07 in 2007. Then, we developed a hydro-mechanical safety gear, but it was rejected due to price pressure. 

Between 2019 and 2021, we developed the electric safety gear as it is now on the market, and we had it type-approved in 2023.

We were never able to completely close the interface to the electronics. We always had a trilogy of performance, actuator and sensors. We used to always lack the sensors, but now we no longer do. The Cobianchi company has succeeded in bringing Stephan Rohr on board as the new CEO. With him, digital security technology is now coming to us. 

SG: Stephan, what new challenges do you face as CEO of Cobianchi Liftteile AG? 

SR: Since 2015, I have been working intensively on absolute positioning and elevator safety functions and have played a major role in shaping the Limax systems during this time. When Rudi approached me with the idea of combining safety gear and electronics, he sparked my curiosity. The idea of creating another innovation and successfully bringing it to market has never left me.

And yes, I think we were able to present and show at the Heilbronn Lift Conference that there is an exciting future for the safety gear. I’m looking forward to it.

SG: I thought your presentation was very successful! You said a lot, but you also held back a lot.

RR: That was intentional.

SG: You whet the appetite for the Interlift in October! 

SR: Yes, it’s definitely something to look forward to. I’ve been working intensively on the possibilities of merging electronics with mechanics, and some new functions have emerged that were never possible before. So it’s definitely something to look forward to at the interlift!