Last year, the National Association of Elevator Contractors (NAEC) was washed out of Florida by a rogue hurricane and made a hasty retreat to Atlantic City, New Jersey, for its convention. This year, the organization goes there on purpose, having been planning it for 12 months. We distribute this issue at the fall convention and exposition, and always find it to be larger than usual. This year is no different, and, to help conventiongoers, we have a special section with Atlantic City information, convention schedule, exhibitors and exhibition maps.
The focus of this issue is Architectural Materials/Design. Four articles round out the subject nicely. First is Captivating Cabs by Ralph M. Newman. He notes that elevators are the first things people interact with in a building. Newman interviews several suppliers using advanced materials to help create function and beauty. Louis “L.J.” Blaiotta, Jr., CEO of Columbia Elevator Products Co. Inc., says, “I think people would be quite surprised to know the depth and complexity that goes into their daily elevator trip.” Colin Craney authored Europe and Elevator Car Interiors, in which he proposes that the aesthetics of cab interiors may have been overly prescriptive in EN 81-70. He encourages more thought and creativity. From China, we have Round Panoramic Car by Silve Liu. ZheJiang GIANT Holding Co., Ltd. focused its R&D on creating a fully round panoramic car called “Curling,” first installed in Kunshan, China, with a machine-room-less traction machine instead of a hydraulic. Fabio Liberali and Alessandro Cremaschi introduce a new product in Gateway, the Magic Mirror. Gateway is Internet of Things technology applied to glass mirrors in lift cars. It allows mirrors to act as touchscreens, communicate and connect the car to the outside world in real time.
Features this month include The Museum of the Bible by Kaija Wilkinson. “Complex museum-quality projects have been in our wheelhouse for years,” according to Delaware Elevator, Inc. CEO Pete Meeks. He called on a variety of suppliers for the 10 elevators in the Washington, D.C., museum developed by the Green family, principals of Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. And, it seems normal to move from the Museum of the Bible to a place in Alabama where football is religion. Our Matt Irvin wrote Southern Flavor, an ode to Elevator U’s 21st Annual Educational Conference at the legendary University of Alabama. Great educational sessions ran throughout the event. It is amazing how many substantial sessions are packed into the agenda here, with plenty of time to play, also. Dr. Lee Gray covered The 2018 CTBUH Tall + Urban Innovation Conference in Chicago, where several awards were given. The conference made some dramatic changes in format and location, which resulted in almost 650 delegates from 28 countries attending. Elevator Poetry shows how our Sixth Annual Photo Contest just couldn’t be contained in a single issue. We had so much good material we had to show it off in September, as well.
Aside from features and the Focus Topic, we have many other new items this month. A Continuing Education article, NEC Requirements for Electric Motor Installations by David Herres, is included. The author explains the importance that load size, wire size and overcurrent protection be accurate and coordinated to avoid hazards. Reading and passing the exam on it is worth 1 hr. of continuing-education credit for NAEC’s CET® and CAT®, and 0.1 CEU for NAESA International’s QEI.
In a new Legal Issues, Overseeing Insurance Defense: When Does It Make Sense?, Stuart Weinstein discusses using the insurance company’s lawyer or investing in your own when defending a claim. He gives good advice to consider.
Last, but very important: a major OEM is making a move to the southern U.S. In Destination: Atlanta, Wilkinson relates that thyssenkrupp will build a business center and 128-m test tower (the tallest in the U.S.) in Atlanta’s Cobb County. This was a closely held secret, and we were well past deadlines when the news came in but managed an interview with thyssenkrupp top officials to round out the breaking news. It was almost a “hold the presses” moment. . . almost.
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