Industry Quake

The industry seems to be going through a period of contraction and expansion – sort of an industry shake-up. Usually, this is due to the OEMs buying up smaller companies to spread out into new territories or fortify areas. Sometimes, it is just a matter of buying out the competition. Usually, in three-to-five years (when the non-compete runs out), the people who sold out will start up again with a new company. It seems people just can’t stay out of this industry for very long. That is a normal process, historically.

What has been happening over the past five years is different. Private equity companies, rather than OEMS, are investing in companies and combining them under “groups.” Some groups are all contractors (all doing the same job in different areas of the country). Their ability to share management, services and supply chains makes them stronger and more competitive than many individual companies going it alone. Other groups forming are component suppliers, like Vantage or Hyperion, that, when they come together, can supply entire systems. This has been tried before on a smaller scale, but the discovery of our industry by private equity dollars has changed the prospect for success. According to Global Market Insights, the elevator market size surpassed US$99.3 billion in 2021 and is predicted to grow by 3% annually until 2028. I can’t wait to see how it all “shakes” out.

Everyone seems to think we will see a recession next year, but my view (for what it’s worth) is it will be short and not affect the elevator industry to the same degree as some other industries. Our companies who made it through the pandemic are stronger; others are repositioning or joining forces for the future.

This fall seemed to be defined by events, and several are covered in this issue:

• 73rd Annual NAEC Convention and 2022 Exposition by Angie C. Baldwin. The North American elevator industry flocked to Louisville, Kentucky, in pre-COVID numbers. It was an event packed with education, exhibits and, according to new NAEC President John Tolar, exceptional people. Added to those E’s is The 2022 Ellies Awards Winners. During NAEC’s convention, ELEVATOR WORLD presented Ellies awards to winning companies in the fifth annual competition for excellence. Many thanks to NAEC for the opportunity.
• 16th Annual Wisconsin Elevator Symposium by Brad O’Guynn. Hosted by NAESA International, the event held at Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, included golf and two days of solid education for inspectors and mechanics.
• Lift & Escalator Symposium 2022 by Richard Peters. The popular U.K. conference returns as a face-to-face event with over 25 papers. Each speaker had 15 min to deliver the heart of their paper.

The Focus this month is on Escalators and Moving Walks.

• Calculating, Quantifying and Reporting “Green” by Sascha Iqbal. The author explains in great detail how to credibly claim and compare environmental performance of escalators and moving walks.
• Common Escalator and Handrail Accidents and Their Causes by Erol Akçay. This author makes a convincing case that many accidents are due to poor maintenance.
• The Birth of the Modern Escalator by Dr. Lee Gray. Our historian relates the connections between Otis Elevator, Charles Seeberger and Jesse Reno in the new era of escalators.
• “Truly Transformational” by Kaija Wilkinson. This is a feature on London’s Bank Tube Station – the third busiest in the city. Otis installed 12 escalators and two moving walks without delaying the traffic moving through daily.

Our year-end issue is packed with the information you need to look forward to 2023.