The 2022 Ellies Awards Winners

The 2022 Ellies Awards Winners

ELEVATOR WORLD presents the winning companies of the fifth annual competition for excellence in the North American elevator industry. 

For the first time, ELEVATOR WORLD presented its annual Ellies Awards live and in person at the 73rd Annual National Association of Elevator Contractors (NAEC) Convention & 2022 Exposition on the morning of September 21. It was a far cry from last year, when EW announced the winners via Zoom, and prior years, when a press release sufficed. This year, we were pleased for the opportunity to do it “right.” 

Following the NAEC Awards Breakfast, 2022 Ellies Award nominees, as well as their family members, colleagues and industry friends, gathered in one of the two education pavilions on the expo floor for the official 2022 Ellies Awards ceremony hosted by EW President and CEO T. Bruce MacKinnon. It was standing room only by the time MacKinnon took to the stage, and the anticipation was palpable. 

There were cheers and gasps (and a few sighs) as winners and runners-up from Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico and across the U.S. were announced. Winners made their way to the stage to accept their custom Ellies trophy and have their photo taken. Runners-up had certificates waiting for them at the EW booth. It was an exciting celebration of the industry, which, as always, supported each other in high style.  

Following the official ceremony, many winners and runners-up made their way to the EW booth for a photo in front of the Ellies backdrop. Both serious and silly pictures were taken for posterity and social media purposes. Some of those shots appear here in these pages, we’re happy to say. 

To make sure all winners and runners-up were congratulated, EW staff members went to the booths of companies that could not attend the official ceremony and presented them with their awards and certificates there. Those not in attendance at the convention were mailed their trophies. 

The awards ceremony was months in the making. We had more than 150 companies nominated for Ellies in 21 different categories. There were more than 21,000 votes and 24,000 page views over the eight-week nomination and voting period. EW would like to thank all of those who participated in the 2022 Ellies Awards contest and encourage them to nominate and vote next year, as well. A final hearty congratulations to all the winners and runners-up. And, a big “thank you” to NAEC for allowing EW to host this special event during the 2022 Convention and Expo. It was an amazing culmination of one of our favorite contests. 

Texacone

Best Supplier – Other
Headquarters: Mesquite, Texas

Runner up: Formula Systems
Headquarters: Elk Grove Village, Illinois

The 2022 Ellies Awards Winners - Texacone
(l-r): Tony Valdez, Gina Valdez, Evelyn Adams, Andy Drummond and Sterrett Lloyd celebrate Texacone’s win.

Hollister-Whitney – A Vantage Company

Best Supplier – Motors/Drives
Headquarters: Quincy, Illinois

Runner up: KEB America
Headquarters: Shakopee, Minnesota

The 2022 Ellies Awards Winners - Hollister-Whitney
(l-r) Amy Fancher, Dan Baltzegar, Doug Dietrich, Chris Craven and Kim Berkowitz

Kohtler Elevator Industries Corp.

Best Supplier – Cabs/Doors
Headquarters: Opa-locka, Florida

Runner up: MAD Elevator
Headquarters: Mississauga, Ontario

The 2022 Ellies Awards Winners - Kohtler
Veronica Querales, CEO of Kohtler Elevator Industries, Inc.

Hill Hiker, Inc.

Best Supplier – Special Application Lifts
Headquarters: Orono, Minnesota

Runner up: Gillespie Corporation
Headquarters: Ware, Massachusetts

The 2022 Ellies Awards Winners - hill-hiker
Hill Hiker’s Installation/Service team (l-r): Isaiah Patterson, Dalton Gilbertson and Adam Whittow

Franz by relayr

Best Supplier – Software
Headquarters: Chicago

Runner up: Expert Service Solutions, Inc.
Headquarters: Huntington, Connecticut

The 2022 Ellies Awards Winners - relayr
Franz by relayr’s Daan Smans

SEES, Inc.

Best Supplier – Safety Products
Headquarters: Pompano Beach, Florida

Runner up: Draka EHC
Headquarters: Rocky Mount, North Carolina

The 2022 Ellies Awards Winners - SEES
SEES’ Rich Fitzgerald, Dave Selesnick, Meg Perme and Adam Fell at their NAEC booth

Draka EHC

Best Supplier – Ropes/Traveling Cables
Headquarters: Rocky Mount, North Carolina

Runner up: Brugg Lifting
Headquarters: Rome, Georgia

The 2022 Ellies Awards Winners - Draka-EHC
Members of the Draka EHC team celebrate their Ellie win and second place showing.

Unitec Parts Company

Best Supplier – Parts
Headquarters: Bloomfield, Connecticut

Runner up: Alamex
Headquarters: Mexico City

The 2022 Ellies Awards Winners - Unitec
(l-r): Unitec’s Dave Nastri, business development manager; Jessica Burns, Unitec manager; and Morgan Dack, business development representative – Midwest

Claddagh Electronics Ltd.

Best Supplier – Controllers
Headquarters: Long Island City, NY

Runner up: Elevator Controls Corporation
Headquarters: Sacramento, California

The 2022 Ellies Awards Winners - Claddaugh
Claddaugh founder Angelo Mottola (center) and members of the Claddaugh team with their Ellie

Kings III

Best Supplier – Communication Systems
Headquarters: Coppell, Texas

Runner up: RATH® Communications
Headquarters: Sussex, Wisconsin

The 2022 Ellies Awards Winners - Kings-III
Kings III’s Dennis Mason

Savaria

Best Supplier – Accessibility
Headquarters: Brampton, Ontario

Runner up: Handi-Lift
Headquarters: Carlstadt, New Jersey

The 2022 Ellies Awards Winners - Savaria
(l-r): Sales Vice President Alex Bourassa and North American Sales Director Allan Thompson of Savaria

Oracle Elevator Company PR

Best Minority/Woman/Veteran-Owned Business
Headquarters: Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico

Runner up: Kohtler Elevator Industries Corp.
Headquarters: Opa-locka, Florida

The 2022 Ellies Awards Winners - Oracle
Mildred Diaz, founder of Oracle Elevator Co. PR

Liberty Elevator Experts LLC

Best Inspection Company
Headquarters: Newark, Delaware

Runner up: ATIS Elevator Inspections
Headquarters: St. Louis, Missouri

The 2022 Ellies Awards Winners - Liberty
Liberty Elevator Experts’ Joseph McAnulty, general manager and director of safety, and Jessica Gross, national sales consultant

A&A Elevator

Best Family-Owned Business
Headquarters: Pompano Beach, Florida

Runner up: Morgan Elevator Co. LTD
Headquarters: Queens, NY

The 2022 Ellies Awards Winners - A&A-Robert-Baez
A&A’s Robert Baez accepts the Ellie for Best Family-Owned Business.

MAD Elevator

Best Elevator Interior Design/Finishes
Headquarters: Mississauga, Ontario

Runner up: SnapCab
Headquarters: Warrington, Pennsylvania

The 2022 Ellies Awards Winners - MAD Elevator
Steve Reich-Rohrwig accepts MAD Elevator’s trophy for Best Elevator Interior Design/Finishes.

Access Lifts of Hawaii

Best Contractor – West
Headquarters: Honolulu, Hawaii

Runner up: Star Elevator 
Headquarters: San Francisco

The 2022 Ellies Awards Winners - Access Lifts of Hawaii
Geno Godinet, president/owner of Access Lifts of Hawaii

EMR Elevator

Best Contractor – South
Headquarters: Arlington, Texas

Runner up: A&A Elevator
Headquarters: Pompano Beach, Florida

The 2022 Ellies Awards Winners - EMR
Members of the EMR Elevator team pose in front of the Ellies backdrop at the EW booth.

Colley Elevators

Best Contractor – North
Headquarters: Bensenville, Illinois

Runner up: MEI
Headquarters: Mankato, Minnesota

The 2022 Ellies Awards Winners - Colley
Colley Elevators’ Sean Hannon, Dennis Finn and Adam Clayton

Champion Elevator Corp.

Best Contractor – East
Headquarters: NYC

Runner up: Nouveau Elevator
Headquarters: NYC

The 2022 Ellies Awards Winners - Champion
Champion Elevator’s Robert Masterson, Don Gelestino, Amy DiPaolo and Joseph Corrado

Richmond Elevator

Best Contractor – Canada
Headquarters: Richmond, British Columbia

Runner up: Delta Elevator Co. Ltd.
Headquarters: Kitchener, Ontario

The 2022 Ellies Awards Winners - Richmond
Richmond Elevator’s Vlad Zachata

Lerch Bates

Best Consultancy
Headquarters: Denver

Runner up: GUNN Consultants
Headquarters: Vancouver, British Columbia

The 2022 Ellies Awards Winners - Lerch-Bates
Members of the Lerch Bates team with their Best Consultancy Ellie

Otis

Best OEM/Complete System
Headquarters: Farmington, Connecticut

Runner up: TK Elevator
Headquarters: Atlanta

The 2022 Ellies Awards Winners - Otis
Mary Beeson, associate director, Program Management – Otis Service Center
The 2022 Ellies Awards Winners - TBM-at-podium
ELEVATOR WORLD President and CEO T. Bruce MacKinnon announces Ellies winners and runners-up at the awards ceremony.
The 2022 Ellies Awards Winners - admiring-trophy
Winners were awarded custom trophies.
The 2022 Ellies Awards Winners - crowd-shot
The audience eagerly awaited the contest results.
The 2022 Ellies Awards Winners - TBM-and-Colley
MacKinnon hands Colley Elevator employees their award for Best Contractor – North.

Since 1953, Elevator World, Inc. has been the premier publisher for the global vertical transportation industry. It employs specialists in Mobile, Alabama, and has technical and news correspondents around the world.

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