Elevator Essentials

Shirish Talwalkar (ST), director of Elevatech, shares insights with your author (SSP) on increasing demand for elevator accessories, highlighting his company’s contribution in the VT industry.

SSP: How has the demand for elevator accessories and electronic components in India grown over the years? To what extent have you witnessed this trend at Elevatech?

ST: The elevator has evolved a lot — from being a rather boring wood and metal box moving up and down a building to the highly intelligent system it can be now. And as it evolved, elevator engineers and technicians, and the users and customers, found new uses for elevators in a variety of technologies. Thus, came security-enhanced cameras, intercom systems and a variety of access controls apart from lifestyle necessities like air conditioning and imaginative displays. Elevator user safety is given top priority; thus, closed-circuit television with good data cover and communication systems are now ubiquitous. Access control is more in demand for high-rise premium apartments. In some personalization cases, elevators open directly into an apartment, and here, access control is vital. And within large residential and commercial complexes, where hundreds of elevators are networked together, we have the computing power of Building Management Systems (BMS) and single-point monitoring.

If users have to spend time in an elevator system, queuing up and later going up to the desired floor, they prefer the elevator to be air-conditioned and with some entertainment system displaying trending news or some infotainment. By the way, especially in tropical climates, air-circulating fans are insufficient for providing comfort; a compact, dry air conditioner provides for a pleasant ride. Functional colored displays also keep users somewhat engaged in the lobby and inside the elevator. These displays are also utilized for information and advertisements. At Elevatech, we have seen demand rising in each of these categories. 

Further, shifting from analog to digital is giving rise to new ideas like: Could we connect the elevator intercom to the IP system? Access control is becoming more intensely private, thus, moving away from smart cards, Bluetooth and NFC. With the several well-thought-out, long-overdue stipulations to treat specially abled people, several more features are in demand: voice control, voice announcers, loop-enabled intercom, braille signage and such.

SSP: Elevatech has supplied air conditioning for elevators by leading OEM brands and also surveillance equipment, announcement systems, etc., inside elevators and the lobbies of landmark buildings. How has the significance of aspects like comfort and safety increased over the years, and who is driving the demand for them? 

ST: What could be said to the drivers of the new demand for these, shall we say, elevator essentials, in my opinion? To offer a few: the complexities of modern man navigating high-rises; exceptional awareness about passenger safety and accident proofing; Indians getting exposed to world-class buildings around the world; and the rising Indian middle-class wealth.

Of course, demand is also due to investors, real estate developers and the greatly increasing end-user sophistication: Several megaprojects are backed by international private funding investors that demand world-class building comfort, including, especially, the first impression of elevators. Many multinational corporations occupying very large staffing and office spaces ensure the safety and comfort of their people, and that, too aids, in demand creation. 

SSP: With real estate projects increasingly integrating access and people flow from the planning stage itself, what are the challenges and opportunities for vertical-transportation (VT) industry players like Elevatech? 

ST: Sure, there is voluminous demand for people flow with access control. Involvement during the planning stages helps clients select the right product configuration for long-lasting elevator systems and to exceed customer delight. It helps provide necessary back-end support, like laying of the cables and even mounting accessories in advance to avoid rework and delays. While early-stage involvement helps with proper selection and ease of installation, the challenge we face is interfacing various technologies onto a common platform to exchange information.

When existing solutions fall short, we innovate. And with us, the givens are support in selecting products, installation support, warranty services and post-warranty attractive AMCs to top-up hassle freedom for our buyers.

— Shirish Talwalkar, director, Elevatech

SSP: How does Elevatech facilitate the process, and which are some of the key projects where it has done this? 

ST: We enable technologies for elevators, so we work with a diverse set of technologies to provide the optimum solution for most elevator needs. Our deep focus on elevators only helps us work within the constraints of the moving elevator: Some of the best digital cameras, even in a traveling cable, tend to produce disturbances and are even prone to failure, so Elevatech offers a wireless seamless solution: amazingly reliable, hassle-free, and what’s more, utterly cost-effective. Water on an elevator car top can cause severe damage to expensive electronic components, so our air conditioner comes armed with auto-evaporation with water-level sensors and standby pumps. There is no spillage on the car top. Water-level sensors may even decide to shut down in extreme cases. When existing solutions fall short, we innovate. And with us, the givens are support in selecting products, installation support, warranty services and post-warranty attractive AMCs to top-up hassle freedom for our buyers. Our in-house development and manufacturing ensure customizable quality and economical products suitable to the local environment.

SSP: Do you see technology playing a greater role going forward when it comes to VT integration in real estate projects with Building Information Modeling (BIM) on the rise and skyscrapers going higher?

ST: Technology is playing the enabler to meet the complex demands of VT. In skyscrapers, elevators are not isolated equipment anymore: They are seen as a part of the most important utility of the building. Thus, real-time data and information exchange and, to some extent, centralized control to respond to emergencies are essential. Elevators are already getting Internet of Things (IoT)-enabled, and soon we will see them integrated into our mobiles. Considering these possibilities, many of our products are already BMS-enabled. From one place, one can control the content of multimedia across 200-plus screens. Similarly, air conditioning, too, can be monitored and controlled from a single computer for an entire megaplex. 

SSP: What are the advantages of being headquartered in Pune? To which key markets does Elevatech cater?

ST: Pune is evolving as a hub for elevator components. With three MNCs (multinational corporations) — Schindler, TK Elevator and Hyundai Elevator — having manufacturing operations in Pune, more and more component manufacturers are finding Pune relevant. Besides, Pune offers an excellent ecosystem for electronic manufacturing, the availability of good manpower and reasonable real estate prices. Elevatech caters to high-end markets Pan-India.

SSP: How do you envision demand patterns within the VT industry in India going forward and Elevatech’s role in fulfilling that?

ST: Increasing land prices, the Government’s willingness to allow higher FSI (floor space index), denser cities and a wealthy population give rise to more demand for high rises and, so, more elevators. But besides the high rises of Tier I and Tier II cities, there is increasing demand in Tier III cities. Independent house culture is subsiding; thus, elevators are also becoming rural. Today, believe it or not, even bungalows are fueling elevator demand. At Elevatech, we are committed to continuing to work with elevator companies to provide products that will help them meet the demand for the safety and comfort of their end users. 

About Shirish Talwalker

Shirish Talwalkar is an electrical engineering graduate from NIT Nagpur and has a MBA from ITM Mumbai. He has 31 years of diverse work experience in leading companies like Johnson & Johnson, Sun Pharmaceuticals, Otis, Mitsubishi Electric and Sematic. In the elevator field, he has worked in the service, installation and sales departments of elevators and elevator components. He served as the Western Region head for Otis and, later, Mitsubishi Electric. Then, he was the managing director for Sematic, an Italian company creating elevator doors. He then started the ambitious and future facing Elevatech, a dedicated elevator accessory company for Indian products and Indian customers.