Acquisition, appointment and signs of growth

GAL Acquisition, Appointments

GAL Manufacturing Corp., part of San Francisco-based Golden Gate Capital’s portfolio, has made an acquisition and appointed two regional vice presidents. GAL acquired Comprehensive Manufacturing Services, LLC, also known as Courion, headquartered in St. Louis. A provider of door systems for freight elevators, Courion was founded in 1921 and is led by owners/principals Michael Garner and Bob Jackson, who will remain in their current roles. Along with Courion and Security Freight door systems, and Harris Preble and Guilbert replacement parts, CART-MATIC© and TOTE-MATIC© cartlift systems are now part of the GAL product portfolio. Freight Tech, LLC, a New York City-based International Union of Elevator Constructors freight door services contractor wholly owned by Courion, is also part of the transaction. GAL President and CEO Mark Boelhouwer observed that Courion products and services are “highly complementary to GAL’s broad product portfolio,” while Jackson of Courion stated, “Our company has always respected what GAL stood for, and we’re glad to be a part of their organization.”

GAL appointed two vertical-transportation (VT) industry veterans to regional vice president positions, responsible for business development and customer service. Emery Wilcox has been chosen as Western Region vice president, and Bill Lawson will take the same role for the company’s Midwest Region. Wilcox has more than 35 years’ experience in the VT industry, most recently as a partner at independent contractor Ascent Elevator Services. He previously was president of CemcoLift, Inc.; vice president for NAES Acquisition Corp.; Southwest Regional vice president for thyssenkrupp; and special-projects manager in Eastern Europe for Otis. He holds an MBA from Purdue University and resides in southern California. Lawson, a Chicago resident, has 44 years in the industry, joining GAL after serving as Midwest Regional vice president of Oracle Elevator since 2006. He previously worked with Otis as an International Union of Elevator Constructors journeyman mechanic, product-development manager and regional manager. He is a certified QEI licensed in eight states.

Ferrara Appointed to N.J. Code Advisory Committee

Edward Ferrara, vice president of Standard Elevator Corp. of Clifton, New Jersey, has been appointed to the New Jersey Code Advisory Committee by the state Department of Community Affairs’ Elevator Safety Unit. The unit registers transportation devices in the state, including hydraulic, traction, winding drum, roped hydraulic, rack-and-pinion and Limited Use/Limited Application elevators; escalators; moving walks; dumbwaiters; wheelchair lifts; chairlifts; and personnel lifts. The committee’s first meeting was held at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey, in January. Ferrara said he is “proud to have been chosen.”

EECO Moves to Larger Manufacturing Facility

Elevator Equipment Corp. (EECO) has moved its Pennsylvania operation from Lansdale to Telford, where it is relocating to a new and larger manufacturing facility. The move is “to meet the immediate business demand and increased volume of business,” EECO stated. Contact information for EECO’s East Coast Operation is Bill Payton at 810 Tech Drive, Telford, Pennsylvania 18969 and phone: (215) 710-0566.

EHC Global Opens Las Vegas Quick Service Depot

EHC Global has opened a Quick Service Depot (QSD) in Las Vegas to supply customers throughout the Southwest with handrail replacement parts. Offering EHC’s S.O.S. service that includes same-day delivery, the QSD is fully stocked with NT handrail parts for most brands and models of escalators and moving walks. Observing the QSD is strategically located to serve customers in Nevada, California, Arizona, Utah and Idaho, EHC Vice President of Sales Patrick Bothwell said the expansion of the QSD network to Las Vegas reflects EHC’s “ongoing commitment to meeting the challenging and growing demands of the escalator maintenance market in the U.S.”

Nidec CEO Visits Canton Elevator

Shigenobu Nagamori, CEO of Nidec Corp., visited Canton Elevator Inc.’s headquarters in North Canton, Ohio, on November 15, 2017. Nidec acquired hydraulic elevator manufacturer Canton in 2016, bringing its portfolio to 318 companies with 120,000 employees around the world. Nagamori said he expects Canton’s growth to be driven by its decades of experience and customer trust in its brands, combined with Nidec’s strength in nonproprietary components, financial stability and global presence. During a question-and-answer session, Canton employees asked Nagamori about himself and what they could do to improve an already-strong company. According to Canton, “From the welders to the management team, all were impressed with Nagamori, Nidec and where Canton Elevator is going in the future.”