From Dubai to Toronto and Beyond

Royal Décor Steel provides bespoke metal panels for use in elevator interiors and more.

If you can imagine it, we can create it,” is a motto of Royal Décor Steel, Inc. (RDS), established in July 2013 in Markham, Ontario, by the Ershadifar family, who have a similar business in their native Dubai. When your author spoke with RDS Sales Manager Mehrnoush Ershadifar and Vice President Amir Modarres at the Canadian Elevator Contractors Association (CECA) convention in Calgary, the pair were very excited about a unique project they recently did with Portland, Oregon-based artist Curtis Pittman that involved creating double-sided, four-colored stainless-steel sheets and pipes for a sculpture at Michigan State University in East Lansing. RDS creates metal components for storefronts and the interiors of hospitals, airplanes and yachts.

Elevator interiors, door skins and other components have been an offering from the beginning, and the company has enjoyed becoming part of the Canadian elevator industry, Ershadifar says, elaborating:

“The change that Royal Décor Steel’s products make in our city’s elevators is very rewarding for us. Based on our relationship with our clients in the elevator industry throughout Canada, we believe the elevator industry is incredibly healthy, as we have never had any issues. Also, being a member of CECA, we witness the people in this industry taking care of each other and doing their best to improve the quality of their work through cooperation.”

RDS’ elevator offerings have proven popular with property owners, architects and elevator consultants throughout North America, who appreciate the bespoke opulence the company is able to deliver. “The Middle East is a land of luxury, including its elevators,” Ershadifar says. “The simplest building can have the most luxurious elevator.”

RDS works with most of the elevator companies in Ontario, and also does projects in Quebec and British Columbia (specifically, Vancouver). Approximately 30% of its jobs are in Canada. With plans to expand domestically in the near future, RDS is looking to add people in its marketing and labor areas to its current staff of 12.

The company works with well-known elevator interior designers, who buy its decorative sheets, then design an interior based on client specifications. RDS states its panels are ideal for modernization and new-construction projects, offering “countless options” that meet a wide range of aesthetic, performance, environmental and budgetary requirements.

The panels can be configured in a variety of ways. Complete packages draw on RDS’ full surfaces lineup and suit all typical cab sizes and door configurations. Ershadifar states:

“We are specialized in the production and supply of architectural and decorative stainless steel in many varieties, colors, patterns and finishes. Our products are used during the construction of industrial, infrastructural and residential projects.”

RDS’ elevator door skins provide what the company describes as “the perfect transition” from building lobby to elevator and hoistway doors. The skins are available in black, brass, bronze, silver and rose-gold finishes. There are also options that resist abrasions and wear. Customers may either choose from one of RDS’ stock designs or send over their custom art files. RDS takes care of providing the elevator panels’ bends and keyholes.

RDS wants to provide clients with the ideal metal panel, Ershadifar says, and having so many options to choose from is a main challenge. “We have more than 150 finishes in stock and still want to add new ones we want to introduce to our clients,” she says. “To keep them updated on the world’s latest decorative concepts and trends has always been our main challenge.”