Lifting NYC

Tracing its roots to the Empire City, The Peelle Co. continues to play a role in keeping passengers and freight moving in numerous iconic buildings. 

The Peelle Co., known worldwide for its high-quality, robust special lift entrance doors, traces its beginnings to New York when founder Caleb Peelle began selling hoistway safety gates there in the late 1880s. These gates became the foundation for the array of elevator entrance solutions the company offers today, including heavy-duty freight doors, car gates, car enclosures, passenger entrances and replacement panels.

From the very beginning, Peelle has provided installation support for its products. Over time, its expertise expanded, enabling Peelle to offer installation for non-Peelle products, mainly passenger entrances.

Peelle employees pride themselves on being elevator entrance experts who understand the nuances of installation, maintenance and repair. This philosophy has made installation and support integral to Peelle’s NYC operations. Peelle was incorporated in NYC in 1905 and Canada in 1926, today counting approximately 80% of its 150-strong workforce, as well as its R&D and manufacturing operations, in Canada. Management of and manufacturing for domestic and export sales — excluding for the NYC metropolitan area — are done from Peelle’s Brampton, Ontario, office.

Peelle maintains strong partnerships with major and independent elevator contractors throughout NYC, offering comprehensive turnkey solutions by furnishing and installing all its products. The company’s commitment to installation continues to encompass freight and passenger elevator doors, car enclosures, emergency repair services and routine maintenance. Peelle’s skilled manufacturing and field teams address all freight and passenger needs, from specifications writing to field surveys and installation. 

The company maintains a NYC mailing address, as well as a warehouse for storing products before they are delivered to customers. Peelle has provided elevator components and labor for some of NYC’s most iconic properties: in Manhattan, these include the Empire State Building, One World Trade Center (WTC), the 9/11 Memorial & Museum and 15 Hudson Yards; and in Brooklyn, the Brooklyn Army Terminal. 

As part of a two-elevator modernization at the Empire State Building in 2011, Peelle provided:

• Seven 6-ft-wide X 7 ft, 6-in.-high power doors
• Three 6-ft-wide X 6-ft-tall power car doors (vertically sliding doors for freight elevators that can be motorized and have wireless controls) 
• Two car enclosures
• International Union of Elevator Constructors (IUEC) field labor

At the tallest building in the U.S., One WTC, Peelle provided IUEC Local One and Ironworkers Local 580 field labor in 2009. At the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, located at the former WTC site at 180 Greenwich Street, Peelle provided:

• Three 6-ft-wide X 10-ft-tall power doors 
• One-6-ft-wide X 6-ft-tall power car gate
• One car enclosure
• IUEC Local One field labor

At 15 Hudson Yards, an 88-story, 910-ft-tall residential skyscraper served by an advanced high-rise Otis elevator system in the Hudson Yards megadevelopment on the far West Side, Peelle provided a total of 281 single-speed, center-opening passenger entrances ranging from 42-48-in. wide to 84-96-in. tall when the tower was under construction in 2016.

And at the Brooklyn Army Terminal, Peelle provided 32 power doors, four power car doors, hoistway channel frames and IUEC Local One field labor in 2016. Peelle has also provided various components to Target department stores, hotels and parking garages throughout the NYC metropolitan area.

Peelle’s New York team, which consists of General Manager Mike Coyle, Regional Sales Manager Chris Dikeakos and Installation Manager Eric Dettmering, is readily accessible, prioritizing prompt responses to mobilize resources efficiently to ensure enhanced performance and uptime. Peelle’s skilled IUEC Local 1 and 580 field teams support them, and the Peelle manufacturing facility backs them. The company observes: 

“This dedicated group delivers the products and services that the New York market depends on. Strategically located, the Peelle New York facility is our local hub for project management, materials staging for installation and spare parts delivery, enabling us to respond efficiently to the needs of the NYC metropolitan area.” 

As NYC grows and evolves, Peelle will no doubt continue to play a crucial role in providing turnkey, reliable and efficient vertical transportation.