Liftex 2016

Best show in 28-year history held in London.

by Ricia Sturgeon-Hendrick and Bülent Yılmaz

When arriving in London, one cannot avoid the bevy of construction cranes. They are everywhere in the city and in the villages surrounding it. Two recent mayors of London approved almost any kind of building – some 80% luxury apartments – and much of it speculative. This bubble may eventually burst, but, in the meantime, it is good news for the lift industry, which is booming.

In this atmosphere of plenty, Liftex 2016, organized by the Lift and Escalator Industry Association (LEIA), was assured a good reception. Held once every three years, Liftex is the U.K.’s leading event for the lift, escalator and access industry. This year’s event took place on May 25-26 at ExCeL London. More than 100 companies (including associations and press organizations) from 14 countries attended the exhibition, including ELEVATOR WORLD and EW Turkey. The countries represented at (and the number of companies taking part in) the expo are as follows: U.K. (75); Italy (nine); Germany (eight); Spain (four); Turkey, U.S. and France (two each); and Greece, Croatia, Switzerland, Finland, Netherlands, Austria and South Korea (one each). While exhibiting companies made strong impressions in their booths, the activities of both companies and organizers became the center of attention. Every day, traffic in the expo area was quite heavy, and visitors spent time looking at equipment and asking questions.

LEIA reported that Liftex 2016 was officially the best event in the show’s 28-year history. Exhibitor feedback also supports this assertion. Onsite research revealed exhibitors rated visitor quality as the highest ever, with 97% planning to exhibit at the next Liftex. The show also saw a 20% increase in exhibitors and 15% increase in visitor numbers.

Nick Mellor, LEIA technical director, said the event organizers were delighted with the quality of this year’s Liftex in terms of visitors and exhibitors. He also called the show visually striking, adding:

“The exhibitors put a huge amount of effort into creating unique and distinctive stands. We are also delighted to have achieved our objective of attracting new audiences to the show. Through an extensive marketing and public-relations campaign, we have widened its appeal to those working in facilities management and local authorities, as well as welcoming our traditional visitors back.”

LEIA asked exhibitors and dignitaries to cocktails after the first evening’s close. This event was so packed that it was difficult to take photos. Taking place in the expo space, the event atmosphere was quite lively.

Also on the first day of the exhibition, Elevation, the British magazine for the elevator industry, treated its guests to a spectacular dinner at Tapa Restaurant. Among the guests were your authors; Martha Hulgan, Elevator World board member; Zhang Lexiang, China Elevator Association secretary; Dirk Schoeffler; and several guests from the industry and Elevation family. Your authors would like to take this opportunity to thank the owner of Elevation, Ish Buckingham, for his hospitality and special attention to each guest.

LEIA launched a safety campaign at the exhibition named, “Little Fingers,” which encourages children and their families to use lifts safely. The campaign acknowledges and celebrates the fact that small children love lifts and that sometimes, their inquisitiveness can lead them into a little bit of trouble. The campaign includes a little boy named Liam, who is a character of a delightful storybook that gently teaches children to be safe around lifts. The campaign will continue online, via social media, throughout the summer to coincide with the busiest family time of the year. The book, which already won recognition at the LEIA booth, is also freely available on www.liamloveslifts.com. It is also possible to join campaign talks on @liamloveslifts or www.facebook.com/liamloveslifts.

CPD-Certified Seminar Program by Liftex

The events taking place concurrently with Liftex 2016 were also welcomed with interest. Starting at 11:30 a.m. on both fair days and launched by fair organizer LEIA, the free CPD-certified seminar program ran as follows.

Wednesday, May 25

“How Can You Modernize a Lift for Firefighters’ Use?” Matt Ryan, associate, The Fire Surgery Ltd.:

• Introduction to the problem; why do we need firefighters’ lifts?
• The differences among installations from different periods
• Opportunities to improve lifts as part of refurbishment
• Overview of draft British Standards (BS) and how to apply them with an example case study
• How the BS fit into lift and safety fire design guidance.

“Building Design Implications for New Lifts: What the New BS EN 81-20 Standards Mean for You,” Ian Jones, chairman of the British Standards Institution (BSI) Lift Committee:

• Handling the transition between BS EN 81-1 and BS EN 81-2 and the new BS EN 81-20. How do supplementary standards work with these?
• Key implication for BSI guidance from refuge spaces in BS EN 81-20. What will happen to minimum pit depth and headroom dimensions before derogation from BSI is required?
• Routes to conformity avoiding the need for derogation from BSI

“Project Cash Flow and Project Bank Accounts: What Are the Major Developments and Key Regulations to be Aware Of?” Professor Rudi Klein, chief Executive, Specialist Engineering Contractors’ Group:

• Project bank accounts
• Public contracts regulations 2015
• Questions and answers from the panel

Thursday, May 26

“Inclusive Access and Lifts — Debunking Some Myths,” David Bonnett, director, David Bonnett Associates:

• How to achieve the greatest good for the greatest number of users
• Challenging assumptions about access issues

“From PCR to EPD: Hear the Latest Important Guidance on Improving Sustainability and Increasing Efficiency,” Jean-Pierre Jacobs, secretary general, European Lift Association (ELA):

• Highlight the work performed jointly by the European lift associations European Federation for Elevator Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, ELA and the European Lift & Lift Component Association on producing Product Category Rules (PCR)
• Background on PCR
• How the LCA works and can be used as a tool for new lifts and modernization.

“10 Things a Lift Owner Needs to Know,” Nick Mellor, technical director, LEIA:

• Regulatory background
• What is a thorough examination, and how is it different from maintenance?
• Should lifts and escalators be maintained, and how often?
• What guidance is available for improving the safety of lifts and escalators?
• Question-and-answer session with the panel

About Leia

The Lift and Escalator Industry Association (LEIA) is a trade association and advisory body for the lift and escalator industry. It was formed in 1997 by the merging of two longstanding associations, the British Lift Association and the National Association of Lift Manufacturers (which have histories dating back to the early 1930s). With membership covering some 85% of the lift and escalator industry, LEIA provides a single voice for the sector. LEIA members supply passenger and goods/service lifts, stairlifts, home lifts, lifting platforms, escalators, passenger conveyors and a range of components and services for such products. Members also handle the maintenance of more than 250,000 products that fall within the scope of the association.

Just a Little Side Trip

by Ricia Sturgeon-Hendrick

It was lucky that Elevator World, Inc. Board Member Martha Hulgan was able to get away from her own consulting practice to come to London with me and help in the Liftex booth. We were shorthanded, and Martha sells Elevator World products wherever she goes. Since we were going to be there anyway, we took a few days before Liftex to see the sights. In one day, we managed to tour the Tower of London, visit London Bridge, ride on the London Eye and eat an extravagant English dinner of roast beef and Yorkshire pudding. The next night, we saw the play “Beautiful” in a theater that was well over 100 years old. We wanted to have a real English tea with Pat Gale, but couldn’t work it in. We were so glad she came to visit us in our booth at Liftex.

Of course, the main thing that interested Martha were the elevators at our hotel (Royal Horseguards). When the doors opened and closed, a red or green light appeared alongside the opening, and a voice announced the doors were opening or closing — and gave a safety warning. We spent much of the Liftex expo looking for those door lights. Once an elevator woman, always an elevator woman!