Interlift 2013 Expo

Biennial international trade fair continues growth in its 11th iteration.

As has always been the case in years past, the most recent Interlift exhibition, held on October 15-18, 2013, at the Messezentrum in Augsburg, Germany, was a grand success for exhibitors and attendees alike. More than 500 exhibits were distributed throughout seven halls comprising 48,000 m2 of floor space, and it was reported that more than 70% of the 18,900 visitors came from overseas to attend the event and visit with their colleagues, make new contacts and take advantage of 48 VFA Forum educational sessions that ran continuously during exhibit hours. As pointed out by AFAG Messen Managing Director and head of the Interlift organizing team Heiko Konicke during the event’s opening session, “The worldwide elevator family sees Interlift as a reliable and indispensable marketing instrument and as an effective hub for qualified [elevator-industry] information and communication.” The activity seen in and around the exhibits, as well as throughout the VFA Educational Forum, certainly bore this statement out.

Opening Session

Interlift 2013 opened with welcoming remarks by Konicke and VFA President Achim Hütter in a packed meeting room on the second floor of the Messezentrum Entry Building. An entertaining mime act was also provided by a very talented pantomime artist, who, along with an assistant from the industry, portrayed a very humorous rendition of a frustrated elevator passenger interacting with a modern high-tech elevator with voice-activated control features.

Innovations Abound

The presentation of new technology always gets this reporter’s attention, and much of this was evident in many of the exhibit stands. A completely glass elevator car and hoistway enclosure with little to no supporting structure was a marvel to see. Numerous thin car and hoistway doors, both of a traditional design, as well as those completely made of glass, were brilliantly displayed. Additionally, large screens mounted inside elevator cars gave the impression and the feeling of traveling in an observation elevator, providing another surprising sensation. The next time anyone asks me, “What can be so special about riding in an elevator?” I will immediately direct them to www.elevatorworld.com’s Online Extras section, which displays the finely appointed and marvelous-looking elevator-car enclosures shown at this event.

The Interlift exhibition has also become known as the place to see the latest technology applied to our industry’s equipment, and this year’s event certainly met this expectation. Large flat screens dominated many of the stands, where they were used to present videos and information on products offered by various exhibitors. Wittur even used vertically positioned screens to replicate an entire elevator entrance with center-opening door panels parting to display its various products.

The most dynamic use of this technology inside an elevator car was displayed by DigiGage. Its system consisted of a 40-in. flat screen positioned vertically on the rear of a typical car enclosure interfaced with a mobile phone, from which the screen’s presentation was easily changed to show numerous scenes. For example, a beautiful underwater scene with tropical fish “swimming” outside and around the elevator cab was easily switched to a view of Times Square in New York City. Both scenes were synchronized with the car’s vertical motion as it traveled between two levels in the exhibit. A cartoon for the child in all of us and the posting of announcements directly from the mobile phone were also demonstrated. This system is a true marriage of elevator-industry technology and electronic social media that is so popular and effectively used in industry today.

 Also on display was a clever device that appeared to be just a conventional stair going up to a platform. In actuality, it was a dual-purpose accessibility device. At the touch of a button or turn of a key switch, the stair was gradually converted into an automated platform lift for use by disabled persons.

Another interesting system on display was billed as the Automated Pedestrian Overpass. This product is comprised of a lift car designed to run at a smooth and constant speed up and over an obstacle and back down to allow passengers to cross what might be a busy roadway or other obstruction to their horizontal path. The system is available from ATAL Engineering Ltd.

EFESME Meeting

The European Federation of Elevator Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (EFESME) also held a meeting during this year’s Interlift. The meeting was chaired by Susan Mompalao de Piro, and, following welcoming remarks by AFAG Director and Project Manager of Interlift 2013 Joachim Kalsdorf and EFESME President Jean-Claude Georges, presentations were made by CEN-CENELEC Program Manager Ingrid Soetaert on innovation; EFESME Secretary General Giuseppe Iotti on dealing with the Energy Directive; and UNI President Paolo Tattoli, whose presentation was entitled “The Lift Committee on Elevator Small and Medium Sized Enterprises and the Most Recent Developments in the EU Legislation.” A brief question-and-answer session followed.

Exhibits

Some of the hundreds of exhibit stands that made up this event are shown in the following pages of this report, as well as on the EW website for readers to enjoy. A listing of the VFA Forum presentations and their presenters also follows for readers to peruse. Those interested in any of the presentations can contact the presenters or VFA for copies of the presentations.

Final Assessment

The exhibitors and visitors we spoke with all seemed to be in agreement that Interlift 2013 was a grand success. Good business contacts were maintained and new ones made, educational opportunities were abundant, and there were plenty of opportunities for attendees to see firsthand the latest technology the elevator industry has to offer. From all reports we received, exhibitors felt their expenditures made to participate in Interlift 2013 were very worthwhile, and the visitors were extremely satisfied with the event, as well. It is difficult for many in our industry to travel great distances to attend an industry event. However, if you can somehow plan enough in advance of the next Interlift event and work it into your schedule to attend, you will find this event to be extremely worthwhile. The 2015 edition will again be held at the Messezentrum in Augsburg on October 13-16, 2015. For more information, keep in touch with the event’s organizers AFAG Messen by means of the Interlift website: www.interlift.de.

October 15

• “Lift Service Optimization with Aidoo Mobile-Lift” by Lionel Anciaux, Emixis, Brussels
• “Mobile Data Capturing for Lift Inspections” by Stefan Windeck, Aufzug Management Windeck AMW, Hamburg, Germany
• “The Chinese Lift Market” by Zhang Xiaoqiang, Sicher Elevator, Huzhou, Zhejiang, China
• “Full Wireless Emergency-Call System for Elevators compliant with EN81-28” by Manuela Pigini, Esse-ti, Recanati, Italy
• “Lifts in Windmills – How Engineered According to the Safety Rules” by C. van den Einden, Liftinstituut, Amsterdam, Netherlands
• “MRM W Line Solutions for Lifts with Reduced Pit and Headroom for Existing Buildings Acc. to EN 81-21” by Franco Roccheggiani, Wittur, Zaragoza, Italy
• “Detection of Unchecked Movement of the Car, According to EN 81” by Dieter Schoemel, Wachendorff Automation, Geisenheim, Germany
• “YASKAWA Solutions for Lift Applications Based on the Current Inverter Generation” by Carsten Schreiter and Armin Belle, YASKAWA Europe, Eschborn, Germany
• “The Korean Lift Market” by Ilsub Choi, Korea Elevator Safety Institute, Seoul

October 16

• “New Drive Package for Lifts” by Dr. Holger Koenig, Emerson Control Techniques, Hennef, Germany
• “Lift Doors According to MSR” by Peter Will, Meiller Aufzugtueren, Munich, Germany
• “Transatlantic Approximation in Elevator Testing” by Tim Ebeling, Henning, Schwelm, Germany
• “Intelligent and Cost Saving Solutions for Hydraulic Lifts” by Conradin Jost, Bucher Hydraulics, Neuheim, Switzerland
• “Noise Prevention at Lifts – Revision of the VDI 4707 Acoustical Design for Lift Systems without Machine Room” by Hans M. Jappsen, Jappsen Ingenieure, Oberwesel, Germany
• “Elevator Emergency Call According to EN 81” by Olaf Mergelsberg, Scanvest Deutschland, Langenhagen, Germany
• “Experience in the Installation of UCM Solutions on the German Market” by Dr. Etienne Nitidem, Wittur, Wiedenzhausen, Germany
• “Adsimulo, an Expert System for Elevator Design” by Adrian Godwin, Lerch Bates Inc., Woking, Surrey, U.K.
• “Modernisation: Traction and Hydraulic LATUS Lifts complying with EN 81-21 to Be Installed in Very Narrow Space in Existing Buildings” by Fabrizio Nicoli, NOVA, Crevalcore, Italy
• “Retrofitting of Existing Lifts with Energy-Efficient Drum Drive Lifts” by Klaus Sautter, SLC Sautter Lift Components, Stuttgart, Germany
• “ZETADYN: The First Frequency Inverter without Any Contactors” by Dieter Rieger, Ziehl-Abegg, Kuenzelsau, Germany
• “Russia: The Legislation Reform of the Safety of Elevators: Actual Problems and Ways of Their Decision” by Vladimir Kolnikov, National Lift Union, Moscow
• “Door Products Segmentation Acc. to Lift Applications” by Josep Petit, Fermator, Reus, Spain

October 17

• “Climber Lift, The Elevator as Household Appliance” by Antonio Llaguno, Futura/Lifts4Life, Barcelona
• “Control Concepts in Elevators – Control Devices and Information Mediums” by Frank Saalmüller, SCHAEFER GmbH, Sigmaringen, Germany
• “The US American Elevator Market” by Robert S. Caporale, Elevator World, Inc., Mobile, Alabama
• “Quartz, a New Traction Home Lift” by Martin Brey, LM Liftmaterial, Pliening, Germany
• “Implications of the New Lifts Directive” by Birgit Weidel, European Commission, DG Enterprise and Industry, Brussels
• “EN 81-71 Cat. 2 Vandal Resistant Car and Door Solutions for Lift Installations in the Public Transportation Market” by Thomas Lernet, Wittur, Wiedenzhausen, Germany
• “Innovative Elevators Using Magnetic Traction Sheaves” by Martin Anders, TU Dresden, Dresden,
• “Technical Developments in the Lift Industry Taking Into Account the Changes from the prEN 81-20/50” by Jan Koenig, VFA-Interlift, Hamburg
• “The Italian Lift Market” by Emanuele Emiliani, DMG, Pomezia, Italy
• “Concept of Modernization: Full Replacement of Modular Modernization – Comparison of the Technical and Economical Requirements” by Volker Lenzner, LiftEquip, Neuhausen, Germany
• “Advantages and Added Value Through Modern Interfaces in Lift Control” by Roy Schneider, BÖHNKE + PARTNER, Bergisch Gladbach, Germany
• “KLEEMANN Design in Highrise Projects” by Christina Kotikosta, KLEEMANN, Kilkis, Germany
• “Contribution of Elevators to Building Certifications (Esp. LEED®)” by Brad Nemeth, ThyssenKrupp Elevator Americas, Frisco, Texas
• “The VOB/B 2012 for the Lift Industry” by Ulf Reese, lawyer for construction and architectural law, Lueke Reese, Hamburg, Germany

October 18

• “Security Solution for Lift Installers” by Ingo Boost, Bosch Sicherheitssysteme, Berlin
• “Lift Emergency Telephones Challenged by Technology and Regulation” by Lars Odlén, European Lift Association (ELA), WG Telealarms, Brussels
• “ISO-CEN and GTBFT: Status Up-Date Accessibilities in Europe” by Philippe Casteleyn, ELA, Brussels
• “Application of the EV4-VVVF Solution to Hydraulic Lifts” by D. K. Ferhat Celik, Blain Hydraulics, Heilbronn, Germany
• “Proven Increase of Transport Capacity and Noticeable Optimization of Ride Quality Thanks to Modifications in the Lift Controller” by Matthias Gehrke and Dr. Sebastian Sigle, DEKRA Automobil, Stuttgart, Germany
• “VDI 4707 Part 2: Elevators – Energy Efficiency – Components” by Kai Kuegler, TÜV SÜD, Stuttgart
• “Lift Shaft Smoke Evacuation Systems in the Normative and Product-Specific Field” by Lars Walter, D+H Mechatronics, Ammersbek, Germany
• “Escalator Handrails as Advertising Medium” by Alexandra Jurka, EHC Germany, Baesweiler, Germany
• “New Generation Dialers and GSM/GPRS/3G Communicator” by Marco Pessina, Digicom, Cardano al Campo, Italy
• “Carbomotion – High-Performance Belt Carbon Fibre” by Marcel Remp, SGL-Group, Meitingen, Germany