One of the biggest things happening in April is the return of interlift on April 26-29. After a two-and-a-half year interruption, the major event, interlift 2022, returns to Augsburg, Germany, with 350 exhibitors in seven halls. There will also be a forum covering subjects from codes and safety to building information modeling and carbon neutrality. This issue includes a seven-page section with a list of exhibitors and hall diagrams. Excitment is building for face-to-face meetings at interlift.
Our cover this month features the tallest elevator test tower in the U.S. Game Changer by Kaija Wilkinson covers the opening of TK Elevator’s (TKE) new North-American headquarters and tower in Atlanta, Georgia. With 18 shafts, it promises innovation and transparency. Along with the article is an interview with Kevin Lavallee, who rose from an elevator technician to CEO of TKE North America. He spoke of continued expansion and new products, like MULTI, coming to North America.
Our focus this month is on Environmental Issues and their effect on vertical transportation (VT). There are so many new words attached to that subject — carbon neutral, sustainable, emissions, fossil-free, recycle and lifecycle, to name a few. 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 accounts 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.
It seems almost everyone had something to say about Environmental Issues, so you will find the subject thoroughly covered:
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 of 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 elevator’s 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: Shaft Efficiency Calculations in Elevators by Ali Razmavar and Amir Bahram Daraei, and Computational Environment for Simulating Impact of Building Sway by Jaakko Kalliomäki, et al.
Other features this month are: Loving the Lifts by Richie Lobert. In this Project Spotlight, Otis, working with LML Consultants’ Lobert and Dean Morgan, modernized the 222 Exhibition Street high rise in Melbourne, Australia. Another modernization, Elevating Electchester by Wilkinson, took place in Queens, New York. The Electchester is a historic housing development with 38 mid-rise buildings and two towers that housed many union families — both International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and International Union of Elevator Constructors. So, it’s no surprise that the job came off without a hitch.
As we go to press, the conflict 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 traveled alone from Hungary to the U.S. when she was 16. My sadness and concerns are hard to express, but our Senior Associate Editor Kaija Wilkinson has written powerfully on the subject, and I urge you to read her editorial in Last Glance (p. 136). Godspeed to Ukraine.
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