A Path Forward

Hope is like a path in the countryside. [At first], there is nothing – – – but as people walk this way again and again, a path appears.

— Lu Xum

My thoughts in early 2022 are on the future and how our industry is changing. However, as I write this, the future still seems a bit fuzzy. Business is booming in some areas of the world, and in others, jobs have slowed down. Supply chain failures continue to hamper manufacturing and construction. Inflation poses a threat, and a new COVID-19 variant is spreading rapidly. As we approach the end of a two-year run, life has not returned to normal. But like the Chinese quote above, it seems we must wander this way and that way until a new path becomes clear. Some things in the elevator industry are already changing:

• Our Industry is in motion, both consolidating and expanding. 

• The environmental landscape is changing, and buildings will be greener, smarter and more flexible.

• Trade education has never been more important. As many retire from the industry, we are losing valuable knowledge.

• New technology (remote observation and data collection), along with artificial Intelligence (AI), may make us safer and faster.

• Selling VT digitally is a new concept.

We will explore all these things and more in the months to come. Meanwhile, in our first issue of the year, we always highlight the most interesting and challenging projects that were completed in the past year. Entries came to us from all over the world – the U.S., Canada, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. The winners overcame challenges and achieved milestones in a very close competition. It is wonderful when companies in our industry can brag on their accomplishments. We are very excited to publish the stories of ELEVATOR WORLD’s 24th Annual Project of the Year.

Our focus this issue is on The Future of VT. Having read through the entries, I can easily imagine in the very near future people saying, “You live/work in a smart building, right?” The buildings of the future will do it all – they will collect data, analyze it and control our atmosphere, lighting, travel and safety. When we are not there, they will conserve energy.

We have two articles in under the focus category of The Future of VT:

• Global Elevators & Escalators by Andre Kukhnin. The Credit Suisse analyst expects the installed base of elevators and escalators to reach 20 million units this year and estimates 4.5% growth per year until 2030. He has many other interesting thoughts on the growth of OEMs and elevator groups through private equity.

• Elevators 2030 – A Global View by Louis Bialy. The author notes that the pace of change is accelerating, and many changes are due to the pandemic. He speaks of green cities and elevators, smart cities, data collection and remote surveillance. He sees urbanization increasing rapidly around the world.

One feature article that fits into the topic is The Water in View by Undine Stricker-Berghoff. KONE’s Residential Flow System is showcased in Building 2 of Berlin-Gruenau where residents can go from parking to inside their front door using a phone app in the system.

Also, we have a fascinating interview with Dr. Christian Schulz, member of the Group Executive Committee of Schindler. In Between the Democratization of Knowledge and Elevators, he speaks of new ways of communicating and collecting data.

A number of association events are covered, including the celebration of ANACAM’s 50th anniversary in Making it Golden. 

It is an issue packed with articles for the European audience. Enjoy!