After such a long time without in-person events, the importance of face-to-face meetings cannot be overstated. One of the biggest events happening is the return of interlift on April 26-29. After a 2-1/2-year interruption, the major event, interlift 2022, returns to Augsburg, Germany, with approximately 350 exhibitors in seven halls. There will also be a forum of subjects from codes and safety to BIM and carbon neutrality. To help with navigating the event, we have provided a map of the fair buildings and lists of exhibitors in each area. Achim Hütter, chairman of VFA-Interlift, says, “It can and will be a new start for the industry.”
Our focus this month is on Environmental Issues and their effects on VT. The built world is one of the biggest contributors to global emissions: According to the World Green Building Council, the construction and operation of buildings account for 36% of global energy use and 39% of energy-related CO2 emissions. Construction alone generates a quarter of the world’s solid waste. However, we know that elevators and escalators use only 7-10% of a building’s energy, and we have been improving on that for decades. Now, we are looking toward sustainability. That means using processes that are environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a product’s lifecycle, at every stage from design, manufacture, installation, operation, maintenance and even demolition, to be sure sustainable processes are being used. There were many contributors to the focus this month:
Climate Friendly to Climate Neutral by Undine Stricker-Berghoff. The author interviews the “Big 4” elevator companies – KONE, Otis, Schindler and TKE – about the technical features in their new generation of elevators and escalators and how they are progressing to climate neutral status.
Powerful, Refined and Smart by Nadja Ramu. In terms of energy efficiency, the author makes a case for hydraulic elevators’ superiority over traction.
Elevators and Earthquakes: An (Un) Holy Alliance by Stricker-Berghoff. Experts discuss ways to keep ground-shaking from causing VT disasters.
Plants Go Green. This article focuses on the manufacturing side. In Europe, with factories in Spain and Germany, TKE is converting factories to 100% renewable electricity.
Also, on this subject: Computational Environment for Simulating Impact of Building Sway by Jaakko Kalliomäki, Jarkko Saloranta, Sakari Mäntylä, Joonas Sorvari and Mikko Puranen. The article explains how a computational environment models a lift system in building sway and can predict its performance.
There is much talk in this issue on how buildings will be used in the future. In a market trends article, The Story of People Flow in Cities, KONE used data on elevator starts before March 2020 and after to reveal that office elevator use dropped 80% in many European cities. The different approaches to the pandemic are reflected in elevator use in the U.S., Europe and China. Rory Smith writes about Future Modernizations and notes that they will be driven by societal changes and innovation. These changes, he says, are the result of experience with the COVID-19 pandemic. The Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) is a key instrument in the NextGenerationEU initiative to help Europe emerge stronger after the pandemic.
And speaking of modernizations, Olivier Rouvière has written Monumental Modernization, about a natural wonder in France, Le Gouffre de Padirac. This is a gaping entrance to an underground cavern that has 500,000 visitors a year. Otis modernized the lower elevator during rain and snow so tourists could return in the spring.
As we go to press, the war in Ukraine rages on, and it’s hard to know what to say about such a terrible assault. We all want to help this young democracy and their brave people. At ELEVATOR WORLD, we have contacts and correspondents in the area (both Ukrainian and Russian), and we pray for them. On a personal level, my family background is Eastern European. My grandmother was a refugee who traveled alone from Hungary to the U.S. when she was just 16. When I think about what is happening now in that part of the world, I feel great sadness. My concerns are echoed by all of us at ELEVATOR WORLD. Godspeed to Ukraine.
Get more of Elevator World. Sign up for our free e-newsletter.
