New warehouse, staff additions and promotion

Canada’s Delco Elevator Products Opens U.S. Warehouse

Delco Elevator Products, headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, announced the opening of its U.S. warehouse in Ferndale, Washington, near Seattle, in March. An authorized distributor of Torin drives, Delco said the new location will result in lower fees and shorter lead times. The location eliminates import, brokerage and border-crossing fees, as well as tariffs and border delays. Shipping is offered throughout the U.S., including Hawaii and Puerto Rico.

Lorenz Appointed President of Wildeck

After a search involving both internal and external candidates, Dan Lorenz was appointed president of Wildeck, Inc., headquartered in Waukesha, Wisconsin, with manufacturing facilities in Pewaukee, Wisconsin, and Goodyear, Arizona, the company announced in March. Since August 2018, Lorenz served as Wildeck vice president of operations. Prior to that, he held senior leadership positions in Wisconsin manufacturing companies including Superior Die Set Corp., The Fisher Barton Group and Wacker Neuson Group. As a search for Lorenz’s successor as vice president of operations is underway, he will continue to oversee operations. Wildeck Executive Chairman Keith Pignolet praised Lorenz’s “commitment to our customers and our mission to make their projects run smoothly.”

ELSCO Adds Key Sales, Service Positions to Staff

Elevator Safety Co. (ELSCO), a maker of roller guides, swivel sliding guide shoes and related accessories, has added two staff positions to bolster its sales and customer service departments, the National Association of Elevator Contractors reported in its March Mainline newsletter. Mark Wilson has been named National Sales engineer, and Michael Miller has signed on as Inside Sales and Customer Service manager. Wilson, an elevator industry veteran with more than 30 years’ experience in sales, marketing and operations, will be responsible for sales, technical service expertise and customer product training for ELSCO’s U.S. and Canadian markets. Miller, with a 30-plus-year career in customer service in business-to-business organizations, has experience in teambuilding and improving operations and processes.

Adams Elevator Promotes Adams

Gerald “Gerry” Adams has been promoted to general manager of Chicago-based Adams Elevator Equipment Co. He replaces Richard Stumpf in the role. Adams Elevator praised Stumpf for his leadership and wished him well on his upcoming retirement.

Adams holds a Mechanical Engineering degree from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, and an MBA from Pepperdine University in Malibu, California. The company added:

“[Adams] brings tremendous knowledge and experience to this new role with nearly 20 years of experience in industrial sales and sales and marketing management. Most recently, [Adams] served as the business unit manager at Adams Elevator for the last 11 years.”

Elevators Regulated in Florida City

Commissioners in Garden City, Florida, unanimously approved amendments to the Florida Building Code, including one that requires elevators in certain multifamily structures, West Orange Times & Observer reported in March. Allowed under a state statute that permits local governments to enact requirements stricter than minimum state standards, Garden City now requires multifamily buildings that are at least two stories tall to have elevators. City leaders considered requiring elevators in buildings with 10 or more residences but scrapped that proposal because of its potential to stifle economic development in low-income neighborhoods where cost is an issue. Garden City Community Development Director Stave Pash said that “requiring elevators in a structure with 50 or fewer units essentially would make the project unaffordable for developers.”

Chicago Planners OK Pair of Mixed-Use Developments

Chicago officials have approved plans for a pair of developments that would bring 920 residences, office space and hotel rooms to the New Fulton Market area, but local groups say there should be more affordable units, Block Club Chicago reported in February. The plans include a 49-story tower at 725 West Randolph Street, developed by Related Midwest, and a 33-story building at 1150 West Lake Street by LG Development. The West Randolph proposal had earlier called for a 58-story tower (ELEVATOR WORLD, April 2018) but now calls for the reduced-height building with 370 apartments and a 240-room hotel, plus an adjacent 15-story office building. The towers would share a four-story podium with parking, retail and a gym.

On West Lake Street, LG hopes to build a 33-story apartment tower and an 11-story office building, both offering ground-level retail. The residential building would have 550 units, up from 484 originally proposed. The US$315-million plan would include 110 units priced for lower-income residents, which was praised by area activists. The project would include interior alleys lined with shops, cafés and benches.

MESA Kicks Off 2020

The Massachusetts Elevator Safety Association (MESA) kicked off the new year with back-to-back January and February general meetings. During the January meeting, the guest was Adam Braman of Helios Enterprise Solutions, who spoke on his “Elevator World Weekly Toolbox Talks” app. Braman detailed its advantages for owners and mechanics as part of their overall safety program. Roland Locke of 3Phase Elevator Corp. was reelected as president. During Locke’s update to the group, he introduced Steve Sampson, chair of public safety — elevator inspections for the State of Massachusetts.

Sampson gave a brief update on the status of the elevator code in Massachusetts and took some time to memorialize firefighter and elevator safety stalwart John J. O’Donoghue (ELEVATOR WORLD, March 2020), who was also on the Board of Elevator Inspections for the State of Massachusetts and a longtime member of MESA. O’Donoghue was also coauthor of Elevator and Escalator Rescue: A Comprehensive Guide, Second Edition (EW, May 2019), written for firefighters by firefighters, which has been long established on the top 10 www.elevatorworld.com Bestseller List. A motion was made to send a donation to the Boston Sparks Association, O’Donoghue’s favorite charity, in his name.

The February meeting was “Robot Day.” Dave Keaney, elevator integration manager for Savioke, gave a detailed talk on the everyday use of robots in various settings, including hotels and hospitals, and how the robots work hand-in-hand with elevators.

Roland Locke followed Keaney with a questions-and-answers period and updated the membership on upcoming events, which included the 2020 MESA scholarship, boat cruise and always-popular golf outing that traditionally takes place in August.

As always, MESA meetings take place at Jake n JOES Sports Grille in Norwood, Massachusetts, on the second Tuesday of every month, except July and August. As of publication, the April and May meetings had been cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Reported by Matthew Jackson, EW Correspondent

Funicular, Elevator Among Portland Transit Options

An elevator tower with a bridge and a funicular are among options for a proposed stop along a new light rail line in Portland, Oregon, the Portland Tribune reported. The conveyances would be part of the US$2.8-billion southwest corridor project running 11 mi.

between Portland State University and the Bridgeport Village Mall being undertaken by TriMet, the regional public- transit agency. The project, which would be funded by local taxpayers and the federal government, was supposed to have started moving more than 10 months ago, but now a decision is expected by mid- summer 2020. The funicular cars or an elevator system would move approximately 10,000 people up and down the steep, wooded Marquam Hill, but both options have been criticized for their “significant environmental and scenic impact.”