Kings III Announces Director Of Field Operations

Kings III Emergency Communications, headquartered in Coppell, Texas, appointed Jon Daugherty as director of field operations. Daugherty will oversee the company’s service, installation and inventory management. Prior to joining Kings III, he was the Midwest sales and marketing manager at Oracle Elevator. During his time at Oracle, he also carried branch and service management responsibilities throughout the Midwest. Daugherty attended Indiana University Southeast.

Buildings Planned For Hawaii

In September, the Hawaii Community Development Authority (HCDA) began evaluating bids from developers who want to create a three-tower project at 690 Pohukaina St. in Honolulu. According to HawaiiBusiness, HCDA plans to build a 650-ft.-tall tower, to include a hotel, housing, offices and 10,000 sq. ft. of rental space. The tower is expected to be 221 ft. taller than Hawaii’s current tallest building. The other two buildings in HCDA’s plan will include additional housing, offices, and commercial and parking space. Construction on the development project is estimated to cost US$500 million.

Liftport Group Plans Space-Elevator Project On The Moon

The LiftPort Group, headed by former National Aeronautics and Space Administration researcher Michael Laine, says it can build a space elevator (ELEVATOR WORLD, May 2012) on the moon using today’s technology. According to www.space.com, the company wants to raise US$8,000 for its first step in creating a floating balloon platform tethered to the lunar surface so a robot can climb 1.2 mi. into an orbit around the moon. Laine said the company had a fundamental breakthrough that will allow it to build a space elevator on the moon using existing technology and a single-launch rocket solution that has “Sputnik-like simplicity.” He added the concept could become a reality within eight years. A space elevator on the moon would face fewer complications than a space elevator on Earth, because the moon has less gravity and practically no atmosphere.

NEII Appoints New Officers, Board Member

The National Elevator Industry, Inc. (NEII®) has appointed two new officers, including president and vice president, and one new member to its board of directors. Effective September 13, 2012, those newly elected are:

Richard T. Hussey, president: Hussey serves as CEO and president of the ThyssenKrupp Elevator Americas Operating Unit, where he is responsible for all business operations in North and South America.

Sterrett Lloyd, vice president: Lloyd is president of Draka Elevator Products, a business unit of the Prysmian Group, where he directs the company’s worldwide operations. He began his lifetime of industry service as a contractor and is the third generation of his family to work in the industry.

Larry Wash: Wash is president for KONE Americas,  having previously worked as president of Global Services for the Climate Solutions sector of Ingersoll Rand, as vice president of service and contracting for Trane within North and Latin America and in various leadership roles with Xerox and Eastman Kodak.

Hussey stated:

“I am honored and excited to work with this board of talented individuals and proven leaders in the building-transportation industry. The success of this organization is a direct result of the hard work and deep commitment they have shown to expanding NEII’s leadership position as an authority in the areas of codes and safety, ushering the adoption of the latest innovations in the industry and ensuring the safety of both the riding public and elevator technicians.”

Lloyd and Hussey have served on NEII’s board of directors (ELEVATOR WORLD, July 2012). The latter most recently held the position of NEII vice president.

TÜV SÜD America Celebrates 25 Years Of Service

TÜV SÜD America Inc. announced its official 25-year anniversary of business operations in the U.S. Founded as a business-to-business engineering-services firm providing international safety testing and certification services, TÜV SÜD America was officially organized under the General Laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as TÜV Bayern Inc. in summer 1987. In 25 years of operations in the U.S., TÜV SÜD has grown to a staff of more than 1,000 in locations throughout the U.S., Canada, Mexico and Brazil, including the acquisitions of EST Testing Solutions and PetroChem Inspection Services in 2006, followed by Global Risk Consultants in 2010.

Ian Nicol, president and CEO of TÜV SÜD America, commented:

“Through a quarter-century of tremendous organic growth, investments and acquisitions, TÜV SÜD has significantly increased our footprint in the Americas marketplace for our customers. These acquisitions, in combination with investments in new initiatives ‘outside’ of the quality and safety focus supporting renewable energy, battery testing and lighting, [foster] our growing network of testing laboratories and services. We are excited to continue our strategy of providing ‘added value’ to our customers and to expand our service portfolio with new strategic locations in the years to come.”

MCTC Elevator Project

Minneapolis Community & Technical College (MCTC) in Minnesota has been working on construction plans for one of its most heavily trafficked buildings, the T. Building, since 2007. According to CityCollegeNews, MCTC’s school newspaper, the elevators are one of the major causes of the building’s traffic. An elevator design project proposal was scheduled to be presented to the Citizens of Loring Park Community in September, and the entire project is expected to be completed in summer 2013.

The building’s three existing elevator cars service the lower level basement to the fifth floor. According to the facility director, two new elevator cars will be installed to serve the basement, first floor plaza and second level skyway only. The plaza stop from the existing three elevators will be eliminated and will only serve levels two to five. The new elevator design will remove the option of single-floor trips between the plaza and skyway from the existing elevators, which will increase their availability during peak travel times. Students on the basement or plaza levels can either use the stairs or one of the two new elevators to the second level skyway. From there, they can access the existing elevators, which will travel to the top floor.

According to Mike Christenson, associate vice president of the Workforce Department, “We understand there are people who cannot use stairs, and we want to make sure [the new] elevator is upgraded so that people will get [reliable service] and not wait [for a long time].” The existing elevators were installed in 1977 when the building opened, therefore, reliability and finding new parts has become an issue.

Mixed-Use Development Under Construction In Utah

Birkhill on Main, a multi-phase, mixed-use development in Murray, Utah, has begun construction. The 6.2-acre, US$45-million project designed by KTGY Group, Inc. will offer apartments in addition to a three-story office building upon completion. Phase I will feature 137 apartments in a five-story building. All floors will be served by two elevators adjacent to the entry lobby and a four-level parking garage. In addition, Phase I has been designed to meet Enterprise Green Communities Certification Standards, one of the highest standards in industry guidelines for sustainable buildings and maintenance. Construction on Phase II is expected to begin in June 2013, which will add 65 apartments. Phase III will include 109 apartments, and Phase IV will feature a three-story, 35,400-sq.-ft. office building. Phases I, II and III are expected to be completed by 2016.

Miami High Rise Expectedly Underway

Commercial Property Executive has announced that a planned luxury high rise for Miami has changed developers and will switch from a luxury condominium building to a luxury apartment complex. The initial developer, Skyline Equities Realty, had planned the original, called “SkyPalace.” The new developers are LNR Property LLC of Miami Beach and LYND of San Antonio. They report all approvals and financing for the project are in place and, as of September, were set to break ground immediately. The proposed 35-story, 390-unit high rise is slated to be built at the west end of The Shops at Mary Brickell Village, a shopping and entertainment center on South Miami Avenue. The developers’ plans include completion by 2014.

Restore It Yourself Extends Products To Elevator Industry

In September, Restore it Yourself, Inc. in Carlsbad, California, announced its extension of products and services to the elevator industry. Since 2008, the company has provided restoration products and services for various commercial markets worldwide. Its Scratch-B-Gone™ system can help elevator manufacturers and service providers remove scratches, chemical stains, rust and more from brushed stainless-steel and brass/bronze panels. At the heart of the system is the Ultra Shine™ solution, which returns restored metal to its original color.

Inventor and  CEO of Restore it Yourself, Barry Feinman, said:

“Scratch-B-Gone fills a need in markets far and wide. Being able to restore rather than replace brushed stainless-steel panels in elevators will save manufacturers, facility maintenance and service providers thousands in repair costs in a very short amount of time.”