Contracts Remain Plentiful in China

Canny Delivers 315 Units for Suzhou Metro Line 2

On December 28, 2013, 315 escalators supplied by Canny Elevator for Suzhou Metro Line 2 had been scheduled to go into service. The milestone followed successful full-load testing Canny conducted in November. Heavily traveled Metro Line 2 covers 26.6 mi. and includes 22 stops. Canny also provided Metro Line 1 escalators, which it reports have been running safely since being installed more than a year ago.

KONE to Provide 83 Units to Wuhan City Development

KONE has won a contract to provide 83 units to the 10-building, mixed-use Wuhan Hualou Street 1 and 2 on the banks of the Yangtze River in Wuhan City. The development consists of nine 174-m-tall, 57-story residential towers with ground-level retail and a 187-m-tall office building. As of November 2013, the office building was expected to be finished by the end of 2013, with the remaining ones due for completion in 2015. For the office building, KONE is providing 11 DoubleDeck elevators with a maximum speed of 7 mps, two MiniSpace™ elevators and six TravelMaster™ 110 indoor escalators; for the residential towers, 47 MiniSpace and seven 3000S Monospace® elevators, and 10 TransitMaster™ 120 outdoor escalators will be installed. 

Symax Contracts Total US$11 Million

In November 2013, China-based Symax Lift (Holding) Co. Ltd. announced nine new contracts to supply, install and service Dingtai and Green elevators. The tenders represent approximately US$11 million in revenues. Deliveries began in November 2013, and work is expected to be completed in the first half of this year. Among the nine contracts, five are for government housing projects in Jiangsu Province and Chongqing in China.

Symax CEO Sabrina Zhang commented:

“Amid the concern of saturation of housing markets in the Chinese tier 1 cities, we still observed continuing growth in our business based on tier 2 and 3 cities, which [has] led to consistent demand for elevator products. We are particularly encouraged by the increasing demand from government housing projects.”

Shanghai Mitsubishi Wins Qingdao Metro Line Bid

The Shanghai Elevator Trade Association (SETA) announced in November that Shanghai Mitsubishi Elevator Co., Ltd. won the bid for the Qingdao Metro Project (Line 3) project in Qingdao, China. The work includes all 68 lifts and 103 HE-type escalators. The North Station underground garage alone will get 48 units. The escalators will rise up to 18.9 m.

Line 3 is to be 24.9 km long, encompassing 22 sites from Qingdao Railway Station to North Station, with a total investment of approximately CNY13 billion (US$2.13 billion). Ten sites are located along what SETA calls “the coastal city’s golden tourist route.” Shanghai Mitsubishi Elevator has claimed work on rail transit projects in 16 cities nationwide. Line 3’s test-run date is set for March 1, 2015.

Lerch Bates in Chinese High Rises

High rises in Shezhen, Qingdao and Suzhou choose the company for façade-access and vertical-transportation solutions.

China Resources Headquarters Awards Contract

In October 2013, Lerch Bates Inc. was selected to design the façade-access system for a high-rise tower in Shenzhen. The US$3-billion China Resources Headquarters tower will be more than 1,300 ft. tall and is expected to be the city’s second-tallest skyscraper when completed in 2016. Designed by international architectural firm KPF, the structure will house a new mainland headquarters for China Resources and resemble a bamboo shoot with a diagrid skin.

 The high rise is the focal point of the Shenzhen Bay Comprehensive Development Project in the city’s Nanshan District. The site covers more than 281,000 sq. ft. and will include a cluster of modern office, hotel and residential buildings, a new headquarters for China Resources subsidiary Vanguard and a shopping mall. Construction of the project began in October 2012.

Haitian Center Underway in Qingdao

Qingdao is witnessing a high-rise construction boom, with the Haitian Center being built on the grounds of the former Haitian Hotel. In November 2013, Lerch Bates Inc. was selected by Qingdao Conson Real Estate Co., Ltd. to design the vertical- and horizontal-transportation systems for the project’s three towers, the tallest of which will rise 1,210 ft. Work at the site has been underway since early June 2013 on the Archilier Architecture-designed project that will include 685 hotel rooms, Class-A office space, a business club, high-end residential units, luxury retail stores and a convention center. Construction is to be completed in 2017.

Design Façade-Access System Awarded for Suzhou Supertall

In November 2013, Lerch Bates Inc. announced it was hired to design the façade-access system for Suzhou Zhongnan Center, a 700-m-tall, mixed-use tower taking shape in Suzhou Industrial Park in Suzhou, China. Once built, it will be the tallest building in the world outside of the Middle East, which boasts the current world’s tallest, the 828-m-tall Burj Khalifa in the U.A.E., and what is expected to be the future world’s tallest, the 999-m-tall Kingdom Tower, under construction in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Lerch Bates said it is pleased to be part of China’s tall-building construction boom, having recently announced it is designing systems for The Haitian Center in Qingdao and the China Resources Headquarters Tower in Shenzhen.

Jakarta Tower Weds Height, Style, Energy Efficiency

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) has designed an innovative, energy-efficient tower in Jakarta that, at 530 m, would be twice as tall as Wisma 46, the current tallest building in Indonesia. Scheduled for completion in 2020, the 99-story Pertamina Energy Tower would serve as headquarters for the state-owned oil and gas company and anchor a proposed campus that would include a mosque, performing arts center, sports facilities and energy plant. Described by SOM as “a model of sustainability and efficiency,” it resembles a giant, elongated razor clam with a gently tapering tower open at the top, forming a wind funnel to generate energy. The design also features solar shades to simultaneously draw in natural light and repel heat. Pertamina Energy Tower is the latest in a string of supertalls proposed in the Indonesian capital, including the 400-m, MVRDV-designed Peruri 88.

Schindler’s Contribution to Marmaray Project

Schindler has announced that since the opening of the underwater rail link between Asia and Europe in Istanbul on October 29, 2013, the 10 elevators and 63 escalators it supplied to the Marmaray Project have provided reliable passenger mobility. Though ThyssenKrupp Elevator had the lion’s share of the tunnel’s vertical-transportation work (ELEVATOR WORLD, September 2013), Schindler’s job included the fitting of four escalators that are among the longest in Europe at 65 m. The company states its products transport up to 75,000 commuters per hour to and from the subway line.

Europe’s Tallest Residential Tower Planned in London

In November, Irish investor Tom Ryan purchased property in London’s financial district, Canary Wharf, on which he plans to build a 72-story, GBP1-billion (US$1.6-billion) residential tower, the Financial Times reported. Hertsmere Tower would rise 242 m and comprise 714 luxury apartments covering more than 500,000 sq. ft. If built, it would surpass the 212-m Sky Tower in Wroclaw, Poland, as Europe’s tallest residential building, but The Shard at London Bridge would still be Europe’s overall tallest building at 308 m. Hertsmere Tower would join London high-rise developments under construction, including The Heron in the city and The Tower at St. George’s Wharf.

Avire Taps Central America, North Africa Distributor

Avire has appointed Málaga, Spain-based CTV Lifts as its Central America and North Africa distributor. CTV will supply light curtains, electronic displays, emergency telephones and LED products from Avire brands E-Motive, TL Jones and Memco. “Using such prestigious brands in a key area will allow us to offer high-quality lifts and products in these markets at a competitive price,” stated CTV Managing Director Fredrick von Maltzahn, noting that CTV has partnered with TL Jones and Memco for more than 10 years.

ThyssenKrupp Elevator Lands 61-Unit Moscow City Contract

ThyssenKrupp Elevator has been hired to provide 61 units to IQ-quarter, a mixed-use development within the new Moscow City business district in Moscow. The order consists of 22 TWIN elevator systems (two cabs traveling independently of one another in a single shaft), 23 conventional elevators and 16 escalators. IQ-quarter will have a trio of connected towers that are 21, 33 and 42 stories housing offices, a hotel, apartments and stores.

Elevator World, CAA Partner on Subir & Bajar

Mobile, Alabama-based Elevator World, Inc. signed a two-year exclusive agreement with Camara de Ascensores y Afines (CAA), an elevator association located in Buenos Aires, Argentina, publisher of the vertical-transportation magazine Subir & Bajar. The agreement allows Elevator World to assist Subir & Bajar with sales and marketing to all international markets. Subir & Bajar formerly focused advertising participation on companies located mainly in Argentina, and distribution in Latin America and some European countries.

The organizations believe that by opening the magazine to international markets, it will grow in size, distribution and influence, particularly in Latin America. CAA will maintain all day-to-day operations, publishing and distribution of the bimonthly, Spanish-language Subir & Bajar and continue to sell to the Argentinean market. Elevator World will market it to the international vertical-transportation community.

Malaysia’s EITA Eyes Singapore, Middle East

Malaysian elevator and electrical system manufacturer EITA Resources BhD aims to expand its market share in Singapore and the Middle East, as well as in other Association of Southeast Asian Nations states, The Malaysian Reserve reported. Part of the RM5 million (US$1.5 million) the company set aside for R&D will go toward building a test tower to develop faster and more energy-efficient products in both foreign and domestic markets.