IEE Expo 2014

Event succeeds in bringing together global industry to share ideas, network.

by Mohammad Azrael, Mugdha Joshi and Jaincy Srancis

More than 10,000 visitors from India and nearly 30 other countries attended the 5th International Elevator & Escalator (IEE) Expo at Mumbai’s Bombay Exhibition Centre in March, making the three-day event an excellent platform to present new industry products and ideas. Organized by Virgo Communications & Exhibitions, the expo began with an enormous opening ceremony that included words of appreciation from many in the industry. More than 175 exhibitors representing 15 countries — China, Canada, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, Kuwait, Switzerland, Spain, Turkey, the Netherlands, the U.K. and the U.S. participated. Attendees were not only from the elevator and escalator industry, but also included developers, infrastructure companies, hospitality-sector companies, architects, consultants and project-management companies.

IEE Expo 2014 was inaugurated the morning of March 20 by Mr. Sachin Ahir, minister of state for Housing and Industry; Mr. Sunil Mr. Prabhu, mayor of Mumbai; and Mr. Vinod Ghosalkar, member of the legislative assembly from Shivsena, India. The inauguration commenced with the lighting of the lamp by the guests of honor. A book, How It Works-Part 2, by Elevatori, was also unveiled, with the Hindi translation having been done by the Elevator & Escalator Safety Trust.

During his inauguration speech, Mr. Ahir stated that the IEE Expo has become a great venue for vertical-transportation stakeholders around the world to come together, share innovations and network. The event welcomed a wide range of exhibitors, including suppliers and component manufacturers. Noteworthy technologies displayed included 2.5-m-wide car doors, double-deck elevator models and extremely high-speed elevators. Exhibitors presented products and projects with the goal of good interaction with suppliers, builders and developers. The exhibition hall was abuzz with activity, with visitors queuing up at the registration counter. A multi-cuisine food court and pianist playing melodies on a baby grand piano provided a lighter touch.

Technical seminars featuring the latest developments and technologies were another highlight of the expo. A session providing updates on Indian elevator and escalator standards kicked things off. Information about amendments to the standards was represented by Nimish Deshpande and Abhijeet Dandekar, members of the P4 panel of the ET 25 committee working on Indian elevator and escalator standards. This was followed by a presentation by Deenar Patil of Schmersal on the latest European industry developments.

The afternoon featured a roundtable discussion on cluster development by a panel of experts, including Mr. Rajendra R. Chaturvedi, chairman and management director, Shreepati Group; Mr. Jagdish Ahuja, chairman, Ahuja Constructions; Mr. Chandresh D. Mehta, director, Rustomjee Group; Mr. Diipesh Bhagtani, executive director, Jaycee Homes Ltd.; and Mr. Qutub Madivala, principal, Mandivala Qutub & Associates, which was covered by NDTV Profit, India’s leading business channel.

A session on global elevator/escalator markets dominated the first half of day two. Moderated by G. Shankar, the session also included representatives from China, Japan, Italy, Germany and the U.S. who spoke about their countries’ market shares. The second half of the day was centered around a presentation on inverter technologies by Kiuchi-Tadaaki of Fuji Electric, who elaborated on the five different inverter-technology methods used to reduce power consumption.

That afternnoon’s presentations included:

“EN 81-81, Vandal-Resistant Car and Door Solutions”: Phil Limbach, sales director Asia Pacific of Wittur, proposed solutions for lift doors installed in public-transportion markets. Because they are unprotected, such doors and equipment are more vulnerable to vandalism.

“Efficient and Safe Elevator Installation Using Anchor Fasteners”: Manek Arora of Hilti explained advanced and efficient methods of fixing fasteners.

“Hydraulic Elevators”: Davide Caprioli of Moris explained the methodology for the safe installation of hydraulic elevators.

The evening continued with a dinner party for exhibitors.

The third day was filled with numerous in-depth presentations. They were:

Wilfred Clarence’s “Challenges of Installing Elevators On Site” pointed out different challenges faced during elevator installation due to different factors, such as the pit not being waterproofed and building plans being inaccurate.

Marcello Personeni’s “Characteristics of Different Doors as per Application Context” defined such criteria by which to select elevator equipment depending on building type speed, rise, capacity, etc.

Faran Javed and Yukio Ishii’s “Latest Technologies in Elevators and Double-Deck Elevators” discussed high-speed and high-capacity elevators installed in Japan and the safety requirements of such elevators. The presentation also addressed double-deck elevator technology for buildings with the same floor heights, as well for buildings with different floor heights.

Mohammad Aslam Mukadam’s “Certified Safety Components for Elevators” created awareness about certified safety components and concluded by pointing out that many people will opt for non-certified components simply to boost profit.

Anandi Khandekar and TAK Mathews’ concluding presentation, “We Are Like That ONLY,” started off in a lighter vein but conveyed a very serious message about inculcating safe practices in the industry. The ultimate message was, “ACT FAST! It’s time that we did something about it.”

A memorial wall was set up in the seminar hall to honor lift-industry veterans who have passed away in recent years. They included Vijay Shintre, I.T. Mansukhani, William C. Sturgeon (Elevator World, Inc. founder), Crasto Don Jude, A. Sankarakrishnan, Quentin (Quent) Bates, George R. Strakosch, Bhaskar W. Khanorkar and Michael David Terry.

As the IEE Expo wound to a close, visitors expressed their deep satisfaction with the event. It was covered by TV partner NDTV Profit, and media partners were Elevator World, Inc., and ELEVATOR WORLD India. The expo received approval from the India Trade Promotion Organization and was supported by the Maharashtra Chamber of Housing Industry.

The expo was well received by visitors and exhibitors alike. It encouraged new ideas and projects in the global market, and both organizers and industry members look forward to next year’s event with the same enthusiasm and energy they brought to it this year. Virgo has launched IEE Expo 2015 in Dhaka, Banladesh in early February 2015.