Elevator Companies Win Awards

China

On November 23, 2012, the Ninth Jingrui Science & Technology Prize 2012 Award Ceremony was held at the Renaissance Beijing Capital Hotel. Among commendation recipients was Yungtay Elevator, awarded the “green low-carbon technology product prize” and “humanized intelligent innovation prize” for its focus on innovation and provision of quality elevator products and service.

In the same month, Zhejiang province’s Industrial and Commercial Administration Bureau and Enterprises Credibility Promotion Committee awarded Rhine Elevator (China) Co., Ltd. the title “Zhejiang Creditable Model Company.” According to the Shanghai Elevator Trade Association, Rhine promotes safety through the slogan “Only Safety Riding,” reinforces a culture of credibility and is devoted to the development of the province.

Sky City to be Under Construction

As of December 2012, work on the proposed 220-story, 2,749-ft. Sky City for Changsha was expected to begin in or before January. Broad Sustainable Building Corp. had consistently stated work on the could-be tallest building in the world would be completed within 90 days using its modular construction practices (ELEVATOR WORLD, August 2012). Elevatored by 104 high-speed units, the structure is expected to be able to withstand the strongest of earthquakes.

In 2010, Broad completed a 15-story hotel in 48 hr., and a year later, it built a 30-story tower in 15 days. By stacking its modules at a rate of roughly five stories per day, the company hopes to create a hospital, a school, 17 helipads and enough apartments to house 30,000 in Sky City.

Hong Kong Ordinance Takes Effect

The Hong Kong Lifts and Escalators Ordinance came into full effect in December 2012. Replacing the existing Lifts and Escalators (Safety) Ordinance, the new rule set aims to enhance regulatory control over lifts and escalators in various aspects. It introduces a worker registration system, in which workers may apply for registration as lift/escalator workers based on their qualifications. It also increases registration requirements for lift/escalator engineers to be on par with those required for professional engineers under other pieces of legislation for building safety control and clearly states registration requirements for lift/escalator contractors, while introducing a registration-renewal system to ensure consistent compliance.

According to Secretary for Development Paul Chan:

“The full operation of the ordinance further enhances the safety of lifts and escalators in the territory. The Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD) will strictly enforce the ordinance and continue to provide assistance to building owners and offer public education.”

The maximum fine for certain offences under the ordinance has increased from US$10,000 to US$200,000 and a series of measures to enhance operational efficiency and enforcement effectiveness has been introduced. In the coming year, the new permits will gradually replace the existing safety certificates displayed in conspicuous positions at lifts and escalators. For further details on the ordinance, visit website: www.emsd.gov.hk.

Suzhou Modern Media Plaza Equipped by Kone

KONE has received a contract to supply elevators and escalators for the Suzhou Modern Media Plaza. The 37,000-m2 plaza will feature a hotel, office, retail and entertainment spaces, and media broadcasting and production facilities for the Suzhou Broadcasting System. The contract includes 35 MiniSpace™ elevators, traveling at up to 6 mps, nine machine-room-less MonoSpace® elevators and 24 escalators. KONE will also provide its E-Link monitoring system. The project is expected to be completed at the end of 2014.

Xiamen Launches Elevator Inspection Campaign

In response to a recent increase in elevator accidents and new installations, Xiamen has launched a campaign to inspect elevators throughout the city. According to What’s On Xiamen, the inspections will last until May and will examine the condition of elevators and escalators in schools, hospitals, bus stations, ferry terminals, railways stations, airports, supermarkets, exhibition halls, stadiums, hotels and other public places. By the end of October 2012, Xiamen had 22,845 elevators/escalators, 98% of which were passenger elevators, freight elevators and escalators. Based on incomplete statistics from a city bureau, the city reported approximately 1,000 elevator accidents each year.

Europe

EHC Global Expands Service

EHC Global, a worldwide manufacturer of elevator rollers and guides, assemblies, escalator handrails and other escalator products, now offers its escalator installation services throughout Germany, Austria and Switzerland. EHC appointed Niyazi Yildiz as the Escalator Installations manager, who will be responsible for service and support of this territory, as well as larger installation projects in surrounding markets. Yildiz began his career as a certified mechanic and now has 17 years of experience with escalator installation. Prior to joining EHC, Yildiz worked for another European escalator manufacturer as a Field Operations manager. He has an MBA with specialization in Project Management.

Germany

Sematic Receives Order To Supply German Airport

In November 2012, Sematic announced it received an order to supply its 2000 B and 2000 B-HR full-glass, automatic lift doors for the elevators to be installed in the Frankfurt Airport in Frankfurt. The doors’ robust design is intended for applications with heavy passenger traffic, such as airports. The equipment features two panels with a central opening. The airport has been expanded several times since its opening and serves more than 56 million passengers annually; making it one of the country’s busiest.

India

CR to Commission Escalators At Dadar And Thane Stations

Central Railway (CR) has decided to commission four escalators at Dadar and Thane railway stations on a trial basis by the end of February. The escalators sanctioned in the 2012-2013 railway budget will only move in the upward direction. The equipment in the first phase will be installed on platforms 6 and 7 at Dadar station and platforms 7 and 8 at Thane station, respectively. In addition, the railway board has sanctioned 10 more escalators in the second phase. Two escalators will be installed at Dadar, Thane and Kalyan stations and four will be installed at the Lokmanya Tilak Terminus. As per the railway board contract, escalators will not be installed at stations along the central line or at Anheri and Borivli stations on the western line. The work is expected to be completed by June.

Indonesia

Fast-Growing Elevator Market

According to the Shanghai Elevator Trade Association, the Indonesian market for elevators is one of the fastest growing in Southeast Asia. Increasing population numbers and a shift from rural to urban areas have led to an increase in construction activities in such cities as Jakarta and Surabaya, creating a large market for elevators expected to drive market growth over the next five years. The construction and modernization of airports in Jakarta have further boosted the demand for elevators. Frost & Sullivan has stated the market earned revenues of US$164.0 million in 2011 and estimates this number to reach US$282.4 million by 2016.

Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst Vidhi Yaduvanshi elaborates:

“As end users become increasingly comfortable with technology, they will look to adopt more modern mobility systems. Hence, most of the upcoming buildings are [to be] equipped with elevators and escalators to ensure free and unrestricted mobility. The renewed focus on efficient use of space within a building means that an effective use of elevators is encouraged, which will also drive the market.”

Price sensitivity and the cyclical demand from the construction market are expected to continue to affect the market for the next five years. However, Yaduvanshi states there is potential for steady revenue in the maintenance market. The Indonesia Building Code is expected to strengthen building accessibility and maintenance regulations, which would force greater equipment quality. Java witnesses the highest economic development in the country, spurring infrastructure and building construction projects (particularly of the residential type) on the island.

Italy

Sematic Launches New Website

In December 2012, Sematic Elevator Products announced the launch of its new website (projects.sematic.com), which is designed to serve as a global project reference. The website offers a selection of the company’s major current and past projects and provides users with insight on the various types of projects Sematic has supplied. References are presented by application type (i.e., high-rise building, hotels, modernizations, offices, special projects and transport), which enables users to locate the information in which they are interested. The website will be updated consistently.

North America

Columbia Elevator Appoints Executives

Louis Blaiotta, Jr., president of Columbia Elevator Products Co., Inc., has announced appointments to four new executive positions: Laura Blaiotta as Sales manager, Grace Y. Greco as Marketing Manager/Northeast Regional Account executive, Dione M. Birdsall as Estimating manager and Tom Rennick as director of New Business Development, Canada.

Laura Blaiotta holds a BS degree in Marketing from the Fashion Institute of Technology. Since the mid 1990s, she has been actively involved in the operation of Columbia Elevator, serving the company in such capacities as human-resource and payroll management, and archivist.

Greco holds a BS in Business Administration from Post University and is currently in the process of completing an MS at Renssalear Polytechnic Institute in Hartford, Connecticut. She has held key management, recruitment, training and sales positions at Otis and ThyssenKrupp AG.

Birdsall holds a degree in Marketing management from the Berkley School in New York. In past years, she has served Columbia in purchasing, sales and estimating, and this appointment is formalizing her role.

Rennick, based in Toronto, has worked in the global elevator market for more than three decades. Most recently, he served as vice president of Sales & Marketing at Elevator Solutions International, a position in which he continued when the company was acquired by Columbia in 2007.

Columbia Elevator Launches New Website, Blog

Columbia Elevator Products Co., Inc. has launched a new website (www.ColumbiaElevator.com), which features an online quotation system with which customers can receive instant pricing for the company’s elevator cabs and entrances by describing their jobs. Grace Y. Greco, Columbia Elevator’s Marketing manager and Account executive for the Northeast Region, remarked, “Response to this feature has been exciting. Our customers are reporting that this is an invaluable aide to doing business in this time-challenged world.”

Additionally, the site features online versions of brochures for XChangaCab®, Columbia Elevator’s cab modernization solution, and QuikEnt®II, the company’s proprietary entrance system. These brochures may also be downloaded and printed for use in the field. A “white label” file download option allows users to distribute the brochure to their customers under their own brand. For those requiring architectural parts, the site provides an online store, offering a comprehensive, highly organized selection of elevator parts and accessories, complete with full-color illustrations, diagrams, dimensions and the option for point-and-click ordering.

Louis Blaiotta, Jr., Columbia Elevator president, added:

“Our new Internet presence will include an exciting new feature. Namely, a blog by my dad, Louis Blaiotta, Sr. With so many decades of elevator experience under his belt, my dad has an unfathomable knowledge base in his head, in virtually the entire range of subjects relating to the elevator field, and he will be sharing his knowledge here. The blog, called Lou’s Lessons, will be refreshed at least monthly.”

Norway

Kone to Provide Elevators to Oslo Airport

KONE has received an order to provide 45 elevators for the terminal expansion project at Oslo Airport, which serves more than 21 million passengers yearly. The project includes 25 MonoSpace® Special and 13 TranSys freight elevators, four platform elevators and one MonoSpace® 500 elevator. In addition, two existing elevators will be modernized to match the new equipment. The installations are scheduled to begin in 2014 and will be operational when the terminal opens in 2017.

Switzerland

TU Berlin Students Win Schindler Award

Schindler announced in December 2012 that three students from Technische Universität Berlin (TU Berlin) won top architecture honors at Schindler Award 2012. The biannual event challenges young architects to design barrier-free urban environments. The project by students Christopher Ruhri, Thomas Buser and Stefan Gant was chosen from 113 projects submitted by more than 1,100 individual students or teams studying at architectural schools across Europe.

The Schindler Award was officially presented on December 7, 2012, at the Paul Klee Museum in Berne. Second place in the architecture competition went to Mauritius Pauli, Tobias Schmitt and Jan Blifernez, also from TU Berlin. Sint-Lucas University in Ghent, Belgium, won top place in the school category, receiving a research grant of EUR25,000 (US$33,076) in recognition of the architecture faculty’s support for the Schindler Award and integrating the topic of accessibility into its curriculum.

Participants were invited to submit proposals for the reinvigoration of the area surrounding the Schützenmatt in Berne, and for improving the way it interfaces with adjacent districts and the verdant Aare River landscape. Aiming at improved access for all and the creation of a built environment capable of meeting the needs of all its inhabitants, students re-imagined the public space and integrated urban repair ideas into their planning, while incorporating various cultural and fringe groups that have settled in the area (ELEVATOR WORLD, August 2011).

Thailand

Tesac Usha Wire Rope Established

TESAC Wire Ropes, a Japanese wire-rope company of the Kobe Steel Group, and Usha Siam Steel Industries Ltd., a subsidiary of Usha Martin in Thailand, have established a joint venture to produce high-performance steel wire ropes used in elevators. The new company has been named TESAC Usha Wire Rope Co., and the partners will hold a 50/50 share. To be located adjacent to Usha Siam’s existing plant in the Pathum Thani’s Navanakorn Industrial Estate, the new plant is expected to be operational in 2014. According to The Hindu, the companies have worked together for more than 10 years to strengthen their professional relationship through the joint venture.

U.K.

Crossrail Stations Project Includes Kone Equipment

KONE has received a contract to supply various elevators to eight new Crossrail stations under construction in London, as well as four elevators for two London Underground stations. The Crossrail order includes 47 MonoSpace® Special elevators, two TranSys™ freight elevators and five inclined elevators. All equipment will be machine room less and powered by KONE’s EcoDisc® hoisting machine. In addition, the elevators will be equipped with KONE’s E-Link remote-monitoring system. The project will be completed over a five-year period beginning in 2013, and the new rail line is also expected to be operational in 2018. KONE’s contract also includes the maintenance of the elevators until 2023, as well as modernization packages when the need for upgrades arises.

CTBUH Conference To Visit The Shard

The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) has announced The Shard at London Bridge as the venue for the networking reception at the CTBUH 2013 International Conference. To take place in London on June 11-13, the conference, “Height and Heritage: The Unique Challenges of Building Tall in Historic Cities,” will occur a few weeks after the scheduled opening of the 306-m-tall tower. Additionally, Irvine Sellar, chairman of Sellar Property Group, developer of The Shard, has agreed to speak during the conference. Other confirmed speakers for the event include many from the European skyscraper industry. A complete list can be found at website: www.ctbuh.org/london2013/Program/ConferenceSpeakers/tabid/3515/language/en-US/Default.aspx.