Safer, Faster and Higher at SJEC

The day after the China Elevator Association Annual Meeting on Design and Manufacturing, held in Zhangjiagang, China, in November 2012, your author conversed with one of the Chinese elevator industry’s authorized specialists in Suzhou. Here, Robin Zhu invited ELEVATOR WORLD to examine the changes in Suzhou Jiangnan Jiajie Elevator Group Co., Ltd.’s (SJEC) factory in Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP) in Suzhou, China, since its opening in April 2010 (EW, July 2010).

Located in the Ecology Zone in SIP, the factory looks in greater order, with more processing lines at work. SJEC’s young management team, headed by President Jin Zhifeng and Wu Jiong, have done a lot of work to achieve goals in environmental preservation, energy savings and the creation of an agreeable environment for employees. The eco-friendly factory contributes to both internal and external environments, as well as to employees’ health and work enthusiasm. Various green plants, fish swimming freely in clear water and white pigeons flying around overhead were seen. In addition to the people-friendly office area, a reading room and sports facilities are made available to the employees. Robin Zhu told your author the garden-like office environment helps inspire people’s creation and innovation.

Though its speed is restricted by the height of the facility’s 140-m-high test tower, the lift within moved smoothly and quietly as we talked about the 8-mps installation. Xue Jiangqiang showed your author to the machine room to witness the high-efficiency gearless machine driving the E800 passenger car. Compared with the high-speed machines displayed in 2010, the machine looks much smaller, with its cabinets in a more compact structure. Riding down has the same smoothness and comfort as going up, but the sound is a little deafening, which is said to be typical with lifts at a speed faster than 6.0 mps. The E800 model, covering the 6-8-mps speed range, travels faster than any other elevators developed and manufactured in China to date. Using seven patented SJEC designs, the E800 features speed up to 8 mps and capacity up to 2000 kg or 26 passengers of load, 1:1 roping, energy savings and a sound of 54 dB(A) in the cabin.

An absolute-positioning subcontrol system makes the lift move at such a high speed due to an optimized math mode. Other innovations include redundancy position checking, four-quadrant energy-retrieval technology, eco-efficient car lighting and pulse-width modulation using SJEC technology, as well as other technologies like the double-wall structure of the car to reduce car vibration and noise during travel. Having passed the type testing and assessment by the National Elevator Inspection and Testing Center in August 2012, the E800 is ready to enter the market, with a planned annual production of 200 units. Your author enjoyed talking with Su Jinrong and Susan Sun, both in charge of SJEC’s international business. Jinrong said the tallest escalator in China at the time was in Shenyang, China, installed by SJEC in May 2011. The promising FEH heavy-duty escalator, featuring a 33.5-m rise and intended for public transportation, was key to the design of Shenyang Longemont Asia Pacific City in Shenyang, China. It appears this prominent national brand has been making continued efforts for faster elevators and higher-rise escalators to move passengers more safely, both in China and the rest of the world.