Abels Joins Schumacher as VP

Bret Abels has joined Schumacher Elevator Co. in Denver, Iowa, as vice president (VP) of business development. Here, he will help identify strategic business opportunities to continue moving the company forward. He was most recently president and chief operating officer of O’Keefe Elevator in Omaha, Nebraska. He sat on the board of the National Association of Elevator Contractors for three years and served as president in 2016. He also served as an Elevator Escalator Safety Foundation officer for two years. Abels entered the elevator industry in January 1988 after graduating in Business from the University of Nebraska at Kearney. He took a position with O’Keefe in service sales and was promoted to sales manager, then VP of modernization and service, then senior VP.