August event marks launch with 20 speakers to a capacity crowd braving Mumbai’s torrential rain.
When it rains, it pours. This aptly describes the monsoons in Mumbai, India’s financial capital, where the E2 Forum fittingly made its debut in the country on August 2. An overcast sky, thundershowers and flooded roads couldn’t deter the top guns of the elevator and escalator industry, along with prominent members from the realty sector — many based in cities across India — from reaching the venue, Hotel Courtyard by Marriott.
Reflecting the indefatigable spirit of the city, the torrential rains were described as “a shower of blessings by the Almighty to mark the launch edition.” Messe Frankfurt’s E2 Forum Mumbai, an extension of the International Elevator & Escalator (IEE) Expo, was spread over several sessions, highlighting cutting-edge trends, sustainable options and safety solutions with 123 delegates in attendance addressed by 20 speakers.
The daylong knowledge-oriented seminar hosted by Messe Frankfurt India and the Maharashtra Chamber of Housing Industry (CREDAI-MCHI) focused on need-of-the-hour topics and discussions leading to potential solutions that can contribute to overall development in the elevator and escalator market.
After the traditional lamp-lighting ceremony, the inaugural session focused on the challenges and solutions in the current market scenario, along with emerging market opportunities. Sridhar Rajagopal, director — sales, marketing & strategy, Otis India, explained the key elements that will drive elevator growth are already in place; now, it is just a question of implementation. Referring to elevator density in public spaces, he pointed out that there is a lot of potential in such aspects as annual maintenance contracts and modernization.
Vaibhav Pitale, senior vice president, new installation business, Schindler India, concurred, stating that elevators are catering to the “smart” requirements of the country, the growth opportunities for which are huge. Soon, not only will vertical transportation be in demand in the metros, it will exist in tier-2 and -3 cities, as well. We are in a phase of sluggishness in between, but that will change soon, he said.
This was followed by a session on “Technological and Digital Advancements in Elevators and Escalators in Line With Industry 4.0.” Talking about high-speed elevators and the challenges that come with them, Ian Smith, vice president, special projects, thyssenkrupp Elevators AG, Asia Pacific office, shared:
“Due to the lack of space and increasing population, buildings will continue to get taller, and this will create the need for high-speed elevators. These advanced elevators do come with their problems, but we are facing those challenges by changing the technologies from [their] conventional ways.”
The next session was on building architecture and design in line with current trends in elevators and escalators. Good infrastructure leads to smarter cities, and the interdependency of the real estate and elevator and escalator industries attracted leading developers who gathered to create a strong future for Indian buildings. Innovation, aesthetics and safety were the key themes discussed. Prominent companies, like Godrej Properties, K Raheja Corp., Lokhandwala Construction, Marathon Real Estate and Wadhwa Group, were in attendance to gauge information about current trends and developments in the elevator and escalator industry.
Hari Easwaran, head — contracts and procurement, Larsen & Toubro Realty, shared:
“Safety, somehow, has been the tone and the central message of the entire forum. As far as innovations are concerned, artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things [and] destination-controlled devices need to be used for most of the diagnostics, unlike the manual interfaces. The elevator industry has been abreast about these changes, and it has been moving forward with giant paces within this segment.”
After that, architect Ajay Nahar, managing director, Nahar Projects and partner, Nahar Group, made a detailed presentation on “How an Elevator Can Change Your Life: New Design Ideas and Implementations” citing the Excalibur by Nahar project as a case study (p. 40).
After lunch, G. Shanker, president, Madras Consultancy Group, moderated the session on “Sustainable Solutions for a New Era of Urbanization — Smart Cities.” “Maintenance and Safety — Issues, Solutions and Global Best Practices” was the theme of the next session, in which Dominic KP, national president, Fire and Security Association of India, underlined the need for greater awareness and fire drills with participation by all residents.
The forum’s last session featured “RED [‘Real Estate Dialogue’] Talks” by CREDAI-MCHI, where real estate developer AgneloRajesh Athaide, chairman, St. Angelos VNCT Ventures, informally shared his life experiences in a motivational manner through a spirited question-and-answer session, which included Easwaran also fielding questions from the audience. The proceedings concluded with a networking dinner. As the delegates dispersed, the topic of conversation was gathering on the forthcoming IEE Expo, to be held at the Bombay Exhibition Center in Mumbai on February 27-29, 2020 (p. 90).
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