Big Events Close Out the Year

As we edge closer to finishing out 2024, we do so with spectacular symposiums and trade fairs behind us. In the month of September alone, we saw key events that tackled the most pressing subjects facing the lift industry and did so with both style and substance. It’s best to begin close to home: The 15th Symposium on Lift and Escalator Technologies by EW UK Correspondent Jason Halligan reports on this important annual event held in Northamptonshire. The movers and shakers of the lift industry met at the Kettering Park Hotel & Spa for two days of presentations, discussions and camaraderie. Speakers and delegates from around the world, including from the U.S., India, Canada, Japan and Jordan, attended the jam-packed, ever-popular symposium. Halligan takes a deep dive into the event’s keynote address from Hywel Davies in Grenfell Reviewed. Davies’ keynote presentation and the following panel discussion looked at the Grenfell tragedy and Phase 2 report in some depth.  

Every four years, the North American lift industry has an amazing event, the United Convention & Exposition, a joint effort of four North American associations: the National Association of Elevator Contractors, Canadian Elevator Contractors Association, International Association of Elevator Consultants and Elevator U. This year, according to Senior Associate Editor Kaija Wilkinson, United was Like a Tiger, with more than 200 exhibitors and almost 4,000 visitors — the largest and best ever.

Before attending United, your editor traveled to Dubai, U.A.E., for the first iteration of The Elevator Show. In A Warm Welcome, I report on the great success of this inaugural event that saw more than 100 exhibitors and visitors from 72 countries. Plans are already underway for its next iteration in 2026.

EW Türkiye Managing Director Bülent Yilmaz recently attended the second Santander International Lift City, which he said cements its status as a key event in the elevator industry. Read more of his report in SILC 2024: Redefining Innovation and Connectivity in the Lift Industry. 

Our Focus this month is on Escalators and Moving Walks, and we have four excellent entries on the subject. 

• Innovative Technologies That Improve Escalator Passenger Safety by Rory S. Smith. Your author takes an in-depth look at these technologies and how they work.
• Enhancing the Sydney Metro City Line. TK Elevator installed 190 new units as a key part of this transformative Australian project.
• Escalator Brake Failure Investigation by Anthony Boom. This is a fascinating account of an expert looking at what did and did not cause an escalator overspeed incident.
• Fujitec Modernises Longest Fujitec Escalator in Japan. At an international exhibition hall, a six-storey escalator is modernised by the original manufacturer.

This issue, we were pleased to be able to talk with International Lift Equipment Technical Director Jamie Colquhoun. He was kind enough to share his perspectives on the lift industry with Wilkinson in From Legacy to Leadership, and the results of the conversation were timely, relevant and wide-ranging. 

In A Remarkable Transformation submitted by Stannah, the company shares the story behind the new lifts in the Asticus London building, a 10-storey landmark that has undergone a major upgrade.  

There is so much more in this issue, and we hope you enjoy all of it. Please send your feedback, ideas and articles to angie@elevatorworld.com.