Companies hire engineers on U.S. mainland and beyond.

Magnetek Hires Two for Engineering Segment

Magnetek, Inc., an elevator drives manufacturer in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, has announced that Gene Jansen and Joe Koren have joined the company as application engineer and application engineering specialist, respectively. Jansen comes to Magnetek with more than 15 years of engineering experience, including positions as a controls engineer at Federal-Mogul Powertrain Systems and project engineer at Rockwell Automation. He will be responsible for providing customer support, overseeing project startups and assisting in product enhancements. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Nuclear Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Koren has more than 20 years of experience working with a variety of drives. Prior to joining Magnetek, he worked as a technical support engineer at Rockwell Automation. His new position as application engineering specialist includes technical support, product testing and project documentation for the company’s elevator business. He earned an associate degree in Electronic Engineering Technology from ITT Technical Institute.

Ed Butte, director of Magnetek’s elevator business, said of the hires, “Augmenting our team with their engineering experience will help us enhance our focus on providing optimal engineering support presale, as well as post-sale technical support, to customers.”

Lerch Bates Opens Hawaii Office, Taps See to Lead

Lerch Bates Inc. has opened an office in Honolulu to serve the Hawaii market and has tapped Ryan See to manage it. An experienced industry professional, See is responsible for providing vertical-transportation consulting for design, maintenance, new construction and modernization projects throughout Hawaii, including the complete renovation of the system within the Pacific Guardian Center (ELEVATOR WORLD, November 2014). See’s experience includes managing projects for ThyssenKrupp Elevator and Otis in both Hawaii and Denver.

Draka Hires Product Design Engineer Disselkoen

Draka is expanding and enhancing its Engineering department with the addition of Matt Disselkoen, who has joined the company as product design engineer. Reporting to Director of Product Development and Quality, Health, Safety and Environment Wynne Ellis, Disselkoen is charged with developing cable, wire and ancillary-component solutions. In addition, he provides technical assistance on design, materials, regulatory listings, product realization, installation and customer support. He works with Production to improve products and systems. Disselkoen holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and is Engineer in Training certified. His experience includes product testing, machine design and fabrication.

Safety News

EESF receives donation, jurisdictions struggle with inspections.

EESF Accepts Donation, Continues Branding Work

The Elevator Escalator Safety Foundation (EESF) reported a donation of US$10,000 by Ricia Sturgeon-Hendrick in memory of her father, William C. Sturgeon, in October 2014. Sturgeon-Hendrick showed her support for the Foundation’s Safe T Rider© rebranding campaign, which includes character redesign, enhancement of print and Internet-accessible materials and the addition of educational apps (ELEVATOR WORLD, November 2014). Her contribution counts as US$20,000 toward the US$150,000 campaign goal, as Sturgeon’s stipulation of the EESF fund he set up is that all fundraising is matched dollar for dollar.

“I’m honored to be able to do this in my father’s name,” Hendrick said. “I hope that other leaders in the industry will see the value of supporting this effort, too.” Donations can be made through EESF Interim Executive Director Nikole Gore-Layton at email: nikole@eesf.org.

Report: Massachusetts Elevator Safety Lacking

Despite hiring more inspectors since a 2010 Massachusetts State Auditor report found 30% of state elevators lacked inspection certificates, the state Department of Public Safety has fallen behind even further, CBS Boston reports.  According to the latest report released on November 18, 36% of elevators (14,000) in the state have expired certificates. The department disputes that, stating it is closer to 28%, but acknowledges performance needs to improve.

Audit: Chicago Elevator Inspections Lagging

In 2013, Chicago elevator inspectors failed to complete approximately two-thirds of their required annual elevator inspections, an audit by the city’s Office of the Inspector General found, the Chicago Tribune reported in October 2014. The missed inspections meant US$772,040 in fees went uncollected. Incomplete and late bookkeeping meant an additional US$236,355 in lost revenue. Being behind in elevator inspections is nothing new for the Chicago Department of Buildings, but department officials note the recent addition of three inspectors, bringing the total to 11, resulted in a 33% increase in inspections by October 2014. They also plan to expand the city’s private-inspection program, which requires certain property owners to arrange for and handle their own inspections, in 2015.

NAESA Accredited, Elects Boards

NAESA International has announced it received accreditation from the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) to certify elevator inspector supervisors. Those interested in attaining inspector supervisor certification may contact NAESA’s office at (360) 292-4968. NAESA Executive Director Dotty Stanlaske thanked the association’s staff, boards and volunteers, adding:

“This is the culmination of over two and a half years of hard work. . . . We are very excited to be the only organization to have the distinction of holding accreditation to certify both elevator inspectors and elevator inspector supervisors.”

NAESA has also announced its board of directors and board of certification for the 2014-2015 term. For the former, Larry Watson, chief for the State of Missouri, was reelected to represent the AHJ members. Michael Chavez, chief for Miami-Dade County, Florida, was newly elected to represent the AHJ members. Bill Snyder from Florida was reelected to represent the private-inspector members. NAESA’s executive officers were elected by the directors: Doug Warne from AEDARSA in Canada is president, Jonathan Brooks is vice president, Michael Stewart is secretary, and Charlie Slater is treasurer.

For the first time and due to the organization’s new accreditation guidelines under ANSI, the NAESA Board of Certification was voted on by the organization’s membership for the Board of Certification. The same set of directors mentioned above serve identical roles on the board of certification. Newly elected board members are Chavez, Christopher Dodds of Delaware and Richard Shaffer of Maryland. Dean McLellan and Richard Baxter were reelected to the positions of chair and vice-chair, respectively.

Fairmont Austin Moves Forward

Plans for the 37-story, 595-ft.-tall Fairmont Austin hotel (ELEVATOR WORLD, June 2014) in Austin, Texas, moved forward in October 2014, with developers securing financing and groundbreaking appearing imminent, the Austin Business Journal reported. The publication predicted groundbreaking to occur in November. Connected to the Austin Convention Center, the hotel will have more than 1,060 rooms, meeting space and an underground parking facility.

A17 Code Week Update

The most recent ASME A17 Standards Committee meetings were held in Glenview, Illinois, on September 29-October 2, 2014. During that week, elevator-industry experts and engineers came from all over the U.S. and Canada to the Wyndham Glenview Hotel, outside of Chicago. Representatives of all of the major multinational elevator companies, many national and regional independent installation and maintenance contractors and OEMs, and many AHJs were on hand to participate. They developed code updates, rule updates, formal responses to code rule inquiries and considered how to better ensure that the A17 code continues to fulfill the needs of the elevator industry and elevator and escalator riding public. Committees met on the following dates:

• September 29: Mechanical Design Committee, Electrical Committee, Limited-Use/Limited-Application elevators, A17 QEI Committee and Guide for Emergency Personnel Committee
• September 30: Electrical Committee, Inspectors Guide Committee, Mechanical Design Committee and Residence Elevator Committee
• October 1: A17 Standards Committee
• October 2: U.S. Technical Advisory Group to TC 178 and New Technology Committee

“Requests for Interpretations” were also presented, and final actions on these items will be published in the ASME Official Standards Committee Meeting Minutes. To keep up to date or attend future A17 Code Meetings, see the Calendar published in ELEVATOR WORLD each month and view “Events” at www.elevatorworld.com. Next up for the committee is A17 Code Week at the Sheraton Sand Key Resort in Clearwater, Florida, on January 12-15. Reported by Robert S. Caporale, MSc

Post-9/11 Rebuilding Continues with Opening of Transit Hub

Rebuilding of lower Manhattan in the wake of 9/11 continued in November 2014 with the opening of a US$1.4-billion subway transit hub, The Fulton Center on Broadway, Reuters reported. Handicapped accessible with 10 escalators and 15 elevators, the hub is expected to serve up to 300,000 subway passengers a day. Its opening came one week after the first tenant, publisher Condé Nast, moved into the new 104-story One World Trade Center.

Harlem’s New Tallest Buildings Revealed

New York YIMBY has obtained specifics on the proposed East River Plaza redevelopment in Manhattan’s Harlem neighborhood. The plan consists of a trio of apartment towers built atop a pair of podiums. The towers would be 575, 515 and 455 ft. tall. Designed by TEN Arquitectos, they feature variegated façades and a pair of skybridges connecting them at elevations of 245 and 255 ft. No construction timeline was given, but the project was expected to be approved.

Matot Rebrands, Eliminates Residential Division

Matot Inc. of Bellwood, Illinois, has rebranded and eliminated its residential elevator division to focus on its core business of commercial dumbwaiters and materials lifts. Designed by VALENTI Advertising of Chicago, the campaign features a new logo and a “Think Inside the Box” theme. Orders on backlog must be reordered through American Crescent at www.americancrescent.com or (800) 748-9711. Matot Co-President Cece Matot observes:

“Since 1888, our family business and values have been integral to our success at Matot. In looking at our business model with a vision for the future, we determined our brand look had not evolved with our modern industry focus and breakthrough offerings. As we continue to develop the most advanced lift solution technology and service, we wanted our brand to be more in line with what we stand for today.”