Polish Association of Lift Manufacturers Celebrates 20th Anniversary

Conference covers industry’s history, challenges and future.

 The Polish Association of Lift Manufacturers (PALM) commemorated its 20th anniversary with a conference on “The Past and Future of the Lift Industry” on October 26 at Warsaw Industry Week. 

The conference included a presentation on key data, problems and solutions for the Polish lift industry, as well as a presentation on digitalization and the universe of the “metaverse,” followed by a panel discussion. Among the participants were Roberto Zappa, president of the European Lift Association (ELA); Luca Pezzini, ELA secretary general; Rudolf Ramseier, VFA-Interlift E.V.; your author, ELEVATOR WORLD; representatives of the Office of Technical Inspection and Transport Technical Inspection; technical schools teaching the profession of lifting equipment technician; and representatives of lifting companies operating in the Polish market.

The program of celebrations included workshops for PALM members on the development of an action strategy through 2030. During the celebrations, PALM received a number of congratulatory letters, and the VERBA DOCENT award was granted to the Association by the MEDIUM GROUP in recognition of its activities related to the education of elevator industry personnel. The main part of the celebration was an international conference on “The History and Future of the Elevator Industry.” 

Zappa was asked to give the conference’s welcome address. He spoke on PALM’s membership in the ELA, calling it “a source of encouragement and pride for us in support of our worldwide presence,” and stressed the importance of global dialogue in the lift industry. From this awareness, ELA proposed to its partners the establishment of the World Elevator & Escalator Federation (WEEF) in 2019, he said. Zappa concluded by encouraging those in attendance to focus their attention on the future, noting “the best possible preparation for the future is a well-lived present that benefits from the past.”

The conference program included papers presented by:

• Zappa – “Challenges Facing the Lift Industry by 2030”
• Tadeusz Popielas – “20 Years of Development of the Polish Lift Industry After Accession to the EU”
• Prof. Jerzy Kwaśniewski AGH – “Artificial Intelligence and Virtual Reality in Education”

Kwaśniewski discussed the purpose, effects and benefits of the metaverse, which is a concept that involves the coexistence of many 3D, virtual worlds. He also covered extended reality, a term that comprises the experiences of all immersive technologies, including virtual reality, augmented reality and mixed reality. 

The following people took part in the question-and-answer session:

• Zappa (Why does ELA support the process of involving global partners in the WEEF?)
• Pezzini (Experience in the dialogue with the European institutions, lobbying and internal ELA organization and its contribution to its members)
• Ramseier (Statements about challenges and threats in the lift industry from manufacturers’ point of view

The panel discussion featured Zappa and Pezzini, as well as Ramseier and Kwasniewski from the German VFA Association. The guests gathered once again that evening for dinner at Rozana restaurant. The following day, international visitors enjoyed a pleasant visit to the historical and symbolic sites of Warsaw.