SEELift Network Skopje Meetup

Belgrade hosted the SEELift Network event this year, connecting the Balkan countries for the fourth time.

The fourth SEELift Network event was organized in the Serbian capital of Belgrade in cooperation with the Macedonian Lift Association (MLA), Bulgarian Lift Association (BLA), Croatian Lift Association (HUDIZ) and Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Belgrade. The symposium was held at the Holiday Inn Belgrade Hotel on October 14-15 with the participation of approximately 80 sector members from nine countries in Southeastern Europe. As in the previous events, all guests gathered at the registration and cocktail event on Sunday, the evening before the symposium.

Day One

The congress started with opening speeches, and Dr. Nenad Zrnić, academician and Head of Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Belgrade, spoke first. He stated that the SEELift Network event had guests from Serbia, Slovenia, Croatia, Türkiye, Albania, Bulgaria, Czechia, Montenegro and Macedonia, and shared brief information on the Serbian lift sector. He said that the lift stock in the country was around 30,000, almost half of which was in Belgrade. 

Goran Sekovski, Chairman MLA (Macedonian Lift Association) and Member of the Symposium’s Executive Committee, shared information on the program and speakers, and indicated that simultaneous interpretation services were also available for foreign guests.

In the first panel where structural novelties, problems and best practice examples of new and existing lifts were discussed, Mile Mitrović, Head of the Department for Harmonized Technical Regulations, Appointment and Supervision, Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Serbia, made a presentation on the regulation of lifts in use, followed by Goran Sekovski’s presentation on the harmonization of EU regulations on lifts in use in North Macedonia.  After the presentations, each panel continued with questions and answers.

In the second panel after the coffee break, smart and green technologies in lift maintenance, modernization and management were discussed. Regarding the subject, Vladimir Stević from Elkont Engineering made a presentation titled “Application of Smart Technologies in Lift Maintenance,” followed by Božo Vukašinović from the same company with a speech titled “Analysis of Energy Efficiency Capacities through an Example of Lifts and Escalators.” 

The subject of the panel after the lunch break was “Human Resources in the Lift Industry – Availability, Training and Education.” Mirjana Bojanić from CCIS Business Academy explained their Training Programme for Lift Fitters in Serbia. Then, Mirjana Vojanić made a presentation titled “Exchange of Practice in the Development of Human Resources and Support Programs.” 

Gala Dinner

On the first evening, guests were transported from the hotel to a local restaurant, Vojvođanski Salaši, approximately 50 minutes away by bus, for the gala dinner. Authentic Serbian cuisine was offered in the restaurant, where the guests had a nice time with rakija (local drink) and live music.

Day Two

A panel on the financing of old lift stock, which continues to be one of the biggest problems throughout the Balkans as they cannot be modernized due to a lack of resources, started with a presentation titled “Financing Lift Modernization in Belgrade” by Marko Milivojević from Belgrade Public Housing Administration. The primary concern from the panel was that the people who live in houses older than 30-40 years are from the low-income group, and property owners lack the budget to modernize existing lifts. Solutions that can be created with EU funds and public cooperation were discussed.

In the last panel after the coffee break, Süleyman Özcan, Managing Director of Solutions Engineering from Türkiye, was the only guest to make a presentation in English. Özcan focused on lift maintenance and stated that lifts installed 40-50 years ago were more durable than lifts installed today. He criticized the comparable non-durable lifts manufactured in this age when we talk about sustainability, digitalization and artificial intelligence. During the presentation, he also showed striking pictures of maintenance work that caught his attention in the field, which can also jeopardize human life. It was remarkable that some of these works were carried out by multinational companies.

The event closed with speeches and lunch. You can follow the location and date of the event in 2025 in Elevator World publications.