PALM Lift Day

Association hosts conference with a full agenda. 

by Tadeusz Popielas

The Polish Association of Lift Manufacturers (PALM) hosted Lift Day on May 23 at the Warsaw Presidential Hotel in Warsaw, Poland. The event immediately followed the European Lift Association’s (ELA) 27th Annual General Assembly on May 21-22 at the same venue. Prior to a day full of conferences that included presentations by Otis, which shared a history of the company and remote lift monitoring and Schindler, which spoke about how the number of its Schindler Ahead range of digital products for remote monitoring has increased over the years from 2019-2024, ELA President Wim Koster and PALM Secretary General Taduesz Popielas welcomed attendees during the official opening. 

Popielas’ “Statistics on the Market for Passenger Lifts in Poland” included a wealth of information about Poland’s vertical-transportation (VT) market covering accessibility, digitalization, green initiatives, the labor market, modernization and urban mobility. An illustrated graph showed how Poland’s skyscrapers are growing ever higher — from the 165-m-tall Warsaw Financial Center completed in 1998 to the 310-m-takl Varso Tower completed in 2022. Its lift market is also growing. He showed how the number of new lifts has increased remarkably in the past 19 years: from 1,616 in 2005 to 6,957 in 2024. Conversely, the number of elevators needing modernization has shrunk as equipment lifespan improves: from 40,000 in 2005 to 21,500 in 2024. 

In the overall Europe big picture, Poland ranks sixth in the number of new lifts and eighth in the number of lifts in operation in 2024. Approximately 75% of the passenger lifts in operation in Poland today were installed after the country’s ascension to the European Union and meet the requirements of the Lift Directive. Additional Poland VT data shared included:

• Machine-room-less elevator systems are on the rise in Poland, reaching 87% of market share in 2024.
• Hydraulic lifts accounted for only 3% of market share in 2024, with the majority — 97% — being electric lifts.
• There has been an increase in the number of new escalators and moving walks, with there being more than 4,200 such units in Poland in 2024.  
• Factors driving lift modernization include safety, accessibility, code compliance and energy efficiency.

Throughout Europe, there is a huge problem with a lack of workers given the steady increase in the number of lifts in operation and new installations, Popielas said. In 2019-2023, there was an annual average of only 190 electric elevator maintenance technicians and 120 hydraulic lift specialists. At the end of 2023, there were only about 4,488 Office of Technical Inspection (UTD)-certified maintenance technicians for electric lifts and 2,961 for hydraulic equipment. This means that there were, on average, as many as 33 electric and 15 hydraulic pieces of equipment per maintenance technician. 

To get the word out about the lift profession, PALM has launched the “I LOVE ELEVATORS” city game for elementary schools, provided teaching support for secondary schools; and offered labs, transition work, thesis help and internships to high schools. The association also markets to adults through advertising initiatives. Popielas reminded everyone interested to attend Lift Expo Poland coming up on October 20-22, 2026, at EXPO XXI in Warsaw. 

Following Popielas’ presentation were:

• Availability and Functionality of Passenger Lifts — UDT
• Accessibility Fund: Current Status and Possibilities — Ministry of Funds and Regional Policy 
• E-Commerce in the Activities of Elevator Companies — Chamber of Electronic Economy
• Parts at Your Fingertips: Automation of Access to Components as a Revolution in Lift Service — Global Lift

Following a coffee break were KONE Business Services Department Head Andrej Chądzyński with “Cybersecurity and AI in the Elevator Industry,” Swissroc Building Intelligence Building Information Modeling Manager Maciej Wrzosek with “CDE (Common Data Environment) Platforms: Security and Transparency in the Exchange of Information in the Investment Process,” and Otis Modernization Manager, Key Projects, Daniel Klimczak with “Lift Monitoring: A Tool of Tomorrow for Service.” 

Lift Day wrapped up after lunch with two outstanding presentations: “Use of IoT in Passenger Elevators” by Grzegorz Cabaj of Schindler and “Elevator Door Safety Devices To Avoid Dangerous Situations” by Wittur R&D Design Engineer Sergio Agazzi. Panelists and guests then summarized and discussed the seminar and participants received certificates of completion.