Historical Webs

Webs are spun to support or enhance life. Certainly, that is true of the elevator industry. The need to organize people in buildings and move them and their goods up was a compelling step in civilization. Often the webs in our beginnings were families with names like Otis and Schindler, spun almost two centuries ago. Those webs have expanded, but they are accompanied by many small and medium-sized webs/companies, many that began as family operations and grew into much bigger concerns. This industry is literally built on the backs of families.

Associations, too, are formed by like-minded people who see a need that can be filled if they hang together. In the vertical-transportation (VT) industry, we have several groups that have stood the test of time, too: National Elevator Industry, Inc. is well past 100, as is the International Union of Elevator Constructors, and the National Association of Elevator Contractors will celebrate 75 years this fall. The American Society of Mechanical Engineers celebrated 100 years of code development several years ago. These webs are strong and have purposes that continue to resonate.

The quote above is certainly true of your author. I was born into a small family elevator company run by my grandfather, and later my father. When I was very young, my parents helped start several associations and an elevator magazine. I helped put stamps (3 cents) on that magazine as a child. Today, I am still in the web spun by my parents and grandparents so long ago. It is much bigger now, and there is no place I’d rather be.

This month, the largest portion of the issue is taken by the ELEVATOR WORLD Project of the Year Award winners:

• Elevators, New Construction. Schindler Elevator Corp. for Banque Nationale, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

• Elevators, Modernization. TK Elevator for the Humboldt Bank Building, San Francisco, California, U.S.

• Escalators, New Construction. Otis Elevator Co. for the Elizabeth Line, London Underground and Railway, London, U.K.

• Escalators, Modernization. Otis for Singapore Mass Rapid Transit, Singapore

• Inclined Lifts. Hill Hiker for the KSA Expo 2020 Pavilion, Dubai, U.A.E.

• Platform Lifts and Stairway Chairlifts. Day Elevator & Lift- A KLEEMANN Company for Earl Hall, Columbia University, New York, New York, U.S.

• Private-Residence Lifts. Global Tardif and ElPro Elevators & Lifts for Crescent Heights in Calgary, Alberta, Canada

• Special-Purpose Lifts. Eshel Lifts Ltd. for CASA Boutique Hotel in Nahariya, Israel

Angie C. Baldwin reported on interlift 2023 in Big Show, Big Changes. The event in Augsburg, Germany, was a roaring success with almost 19,000 visitors and 500 stands. There were many new inventions displayed. The accompanying VFA Forum was well attended.

Our Focus this month is Digitalization, and there are four articles on the topic.

• Connected Lifts. Digital Evolution. by Julio Gil and Pedro Fernández. This is a wide-ranging article on all the many new forms of computer, elevator and human interaction now and in the future.

• Rethinking IoT in the Elevator Industry by Rob Wurth. The author estimates that 6.5% of elevators use the Internet of Things (IoT). He recommends the industry rethink IoT usage so we don’t lose control over its impact on customers. 

• IoT Takes the Elevator World Into Industry 5.0 by Christian-Erik Thoeny. Standalone elevators are being replaced with networked VT systems with a common operating system.

• Building Transportation in the Digital Age by Philip W. Grone. The author emphasizes the need for all areas of VT to be up to speed on digitalization, including the various state jurisdictions.

It’s a fully packed issue to begin our new year. We hope you enjoy it and let me know at ricia@elevatorworld.com.