Elevator World

Welcome to the Elevator World News Podcast. Today’s podcast news podcast is sponsored by elevatorbooks.com: www.elevatorbooks.com NYC’s CHAMPION ELEVATOR ACQUIRES ARCTEC ELEVATOR SERVICE Champion Elevator Corp., headquartered in Manhattan, has acquired ARCTEC Elevator Service, Inc., a NYC-based provider of elevator service, repair, modernization and inspection, Champion announced in early April. Specializing in mid-market elevators in the NYC area, ARCTEC was founded in 1996. Former owners Chris Liakos and Renzo Carcich are introducing employees and customers and handling day-to-day management, including sales, operations and estimating. Champion said the acquisition strengthens the foundation for its expansion plans, for which it secured more than US$100 million in financing. "Geographic expansion is a strategic goal for Champion Elevator as the company works diligently to increase its service base and footprint," the company said. Image credit: courtesy of VFA Interlift To read the full transcript of t

Welcome to the Elevator World News Podcast. Today’s podcast news podcast is sponsored by elevatorbooks.com: www.elevatorbooks.com LERCH BATES INDIA ANNOUNCES TRANSITIONS IN LEADERSHIP Lerch Bates India Pvt. Ltd. announced the naming of Bharat Vishnani to managing director, effective March 15, and the retirement of previous Managing Director Amit Maitra and Chairman Raj Bajaaj. Vishnani joined Lerch Bates India under the mentorship of Maitra, who will continue as managing director through June. Maitra and Bajaaj formed Lerch Bates India as a joint venture more than 15 years ago. Playing a pivotal role in growing Lerch Bates India, Bajaaj's vertical-transportation career spans more than 50 years, starting at Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. in Mumbai. He then spent more than 35 years at Otis India, rising to chairman of the board and managing director. Prior to joining Lerch Bates, he served as managing director of Special Olympics, Inc., Asia Pacific. Maitra has served as managing director of Lerch Bates India since

Welcome to the Elevator World News Podcast. Today’s podcast news podcast is sponsored by elevatorbooks.com: www.elevatorbooks.com LECTURERS INVITED TO PRESENT PAPERS AT VFA FORUM INTERLIFT Those interested in presenting papers at next year’s VFA Forum interlift should submit a brief abstract to akademie@vfa-interlift.de. Each presented paper should last about 20 min. and will be followed by a five-min. discussion. The deadline for submissions is October 15, and accepted lecturers will be informed by mid-December. Because of the ongoing pandemic, VFA Forum interlift was recently postponed until Spring 2022, with the new dates set for April 26 through April 29, 2022, in Augsburg, Germany. Your submission should include name of speaker, company/institution and communication data. For more information, contact Anja Smieja by phone at +49 40 8000473-12, or email akademie@vfa-interlift.de. You may also visit http://www.vfa-interlift.de. Image credit: courtesy of VFA Interlift To read the full transcript of tod

Welcome to the Elevator World News Podcast. Today’s podcast news podcast is sponsored by elevatorbooks.com: www.elevatorbooks.com PAIR OF ELEVATORS TO ENHANCE NYC SUBWAY ACCESSIBILITY NYC’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) plans to install two elevators at the 14th Street and Seventh Avenue subway stations in Manhattan, a move hailed by disability-rights activists at a press conference on March 27, gothamist reports. Proponents, including Sen. Chuck Schumer, urged the Federal Transportation Administration to approve and release the funds, and said he would lobby for additional accessibility funding in an upcoming infrastructure bill. The MTA announced it would install the elevators after it failed to build four elevators at 14th Street and Sixth Avenue in 2020. The authority announced the four-elevator plan in response to a 2018 accessibility lawsuit. Without providing a cost estimate, MTA put the two-elevator project out for bid in February and aims to complete the work by 2023. Image credit: b

Welcome to the Elevator World News Podcast. Today’s podcast news podcast is sponsored by elevatorbooks.com: www.elevatorbooks.com IN MEMORIAM: ERSAN BARLAS Ersan Barlas, a respected veteran of the Turkish elevator industry, passed away on March 28. Barlas, well-known for his knowledge, experience and, most importantly, his tolerance, graduated from Istanbul Technical University in 1962 and made valuable contributions to the Turkish elevator industry for more than a half-century. He served as AYSAD president several times, and was a member of the Asansör Dünyası (now ELEVATOR WORLD Turkey) editorial board for many years. He was a key contributor to the industry through his article contributions. Image credit: by Gerd Altmann for Pixabay To read the full transcript of today's podcast, visit: elevatorworld.com/news Subscribe to the Podcast: iTunes │ Google Play | SoundCloud │ Stitcher │ TuneIn

Welcome to the Elevator World News Podcast. Today’s podcast news podcast is sponsored by elevatorbooks.com: www.elevatorbooks.com AEG AQUIRES INDIANA-BASED RACK-AND-PINION ELEVATOR PROVIDER American Elevator Group (AEG) has acquired Rockport, Indiana-based rack-and-pinion elevator provider American Service Group (ASG), AEG announced on March 23. ASG provides a range of elevators and services that support industries such as power generation, cement production and high-rise construction throughout the Midwest, eastern and southern U.S. ASG President Bill Lawson said the support of AEG will allow ASG to expand nationwide. C. Mark Boelhouwer, AEG president, stated, “A bonus for us will be the ability to offer our traditional elevator services alongside [those of] ASG, with shared facilities planned in Houston and other locations yet to be confirmed.” Image credit: courtesy of ASG To read the full transcript of today's podcast, visit: elevatorworld.com/news Subscribe to the Podcast: iTunes │ Google Play | S

Welcome to the Elevator World News Podcast. Today’s podcast news podcast is sponsored by elevatorbooks.com: www.elevatorbooks.com EW LAUNCHES NEW WEBSITE ELEVATOR WORLD’s new website is now live. The culmination of several months of work, the revamped site includes the following new features: Integration with our updated subscription model, making the website fully content-driven - All past issues are being added as digital flipbooks and in HTML format (by article) for fully searchable content. All subscribers will have two to three years of EW available at launch. Eventually, this benefit will be expanded to include all issues over EW's 68 years. - Daily News is categorized by "U.S." or "International," but there is an option to continue reading all at once. - The main menu is much easier to navigate search. - The "Events" (industry calendar) page is now fully integrated into the website, instead of on an external "Directory" page. "Classifieds" and "Directory" will also soon be incorporated into the main s

Welcome to the Elevator World News Podcast. Today’s podcast news podcast is sponsored by elevatorbooks.com: www.elevatorbooks.com 278 MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC UNITS FOR LANDMARK ONE BANGKOK Mitsubishi Electric subsidiary Mitsubishi Elevator (Thailand) Co., Ltd. (MET) will supply 278 units, including the first double-deck elevators in Thailand, to One Bangkok, the largest private-sector development in Thailand history comprising multiple towers on 16.7 ha, Mitsubishi Electric announced on March 22. The order consists of 250 elevators (including 12 double-deck systems) and 28 escalators, the largest MET order since it launched in 1977. At the intersection of Wireless and Rama IV roads in Bangkok, One Bangkok is being developed by TCC Assets Co., Ltd. and Frasers Property Holdings (Thailand) Co., Ltd. It is aiming for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Platinum and WELL building certifications and includes five office towers, five hotels, three residential towers, four interconnected retail precincts and

Welcome to the Elevator World News Podcast. Today’s podcast news podcast is sponsored by elevatorbooks.com: www.elevatorbooks.com NAEC CHANGES IN LEADERSHIP Hope Evans of EMR Elevator, Inc., of Arlington, Texas, has transitioned from vice president to president of the National Association of Elevator Contractors (NAEC), a change necessitated by the departure of previous President Michael Frecking, formerly of Lakeland Larsen Elevator Corp. of Waukegan, Illinois. NAEC Deputy Director Amanda Smith tells ELEVATOR WORLD that NAEC presidents are required to be members in good standing of NAEC and employed by an elevator company, and Frecking is no longer with Lakeland Larsen. "The entire board is deeply saddened by [Frecking's] departure," Evans said in the NAEC February-March Mainline newsletter. Evans said she is confident that, with a strong board that now includes Don Gelestino of NYC's Champion Elevator who rejoined as vice president, NAEC "can continue to move ahead in 2021 and beyond." To read the full t

Welcome to the Elevator World News Podcast. Today’s podcast news podcast is sponsored by elevatorbooks.com: www.elevatorbooks.com SGP SELECTS KONE ESCALATORS FOR PLANNED PARIS METRO LINE KONE will provide 152 escalators for the future Grand Paris Express Metro Line 16, the company announced on March 18. The planned 29-km line, set to connect the Saint-Denis Pleyel and Noisy-Champs stations, will allow some 200,000 passengers per day to cover the distance in about 26 min. It will total 10 stations, and KONE will provide eight of them with 152 bespoke TransitMaster™ escalators. These units will feature enhanced fire resistance, glass fall-prevention barriers and improved traffic signalization. With built-in connectivity, they can also be upgraded by plugging in services, such as maintenance. The project is being developed by Société du Grand Paris (SGP). Work is expected to begin in 2022, with completion targeted for 2024. Image credit: courtesy of SGP To read the full transcript of today's podcast, visit:

Welcome to the Elevator World News Podcast. Today’s podcast news podcast is sponsored by elevatorbooks.com: www.elevatorbooks.com TKE NAMES VINCENT DELLA VALLE COO TKE has named Vincent Della Valle chief operating officer (COO), responsible for product and supply chain and airport solutions. Reporting directly to CEO Peter Walker, Valle's new role will become effective April 1. He currently works at Bureau Veritas as senior vice president, commodities, global service line. Born in France, Valle has 25 years' industry experience and is a university-educated engineer. Walker said Valle's many years of experience in production, product management, supply chain intricacies and digital technology promise to "drive TKE forward in these important value-creating areas." To read the full transcript of today's podcast, visit: elevatorworld.com/news Subscribe to the Podcast: iTunes │ Google Play | SoundCloud │ Stitcher │ TuneIn

Welcome to the Elevator World News Podcast. Today’s podcast news podcast is sponsored by elevatorbooks.com: www.elevatorbooks.com STARBUCKS CHICAGO ROASTERY GARNERS ANOTHER HONOR Starbucks Reserve Roastery in Chicago has earned another honor with Engineering News-Record (ENR) naming the shop “Best Interior/Tenant Improvement” among its “Best of the Best Projects 2020.” The 35,000-ft2 space, a converted Crate & Barrel flagship store at 646 North Michigan Avenue on the city’s Magnificent Mile, is a five-story coffee-lover’s paradise. ENR notes the core-and-shell work involved removing the original escalators and installing a 56-ft-tall steel-and-aluminum coffee cask. Special piping allows visitors to watch as fresh coffee beans travel from the roaster to three coffee bars. The shop includes Mitsubishi Electric U.S.’s first curved escalator in the Midwest. Image credit: courtesy of Starbucks To read the full transcript of today's podcast, visit: elevatorworld.com/news Subscribe to the Podcast: iTunes │ Goo

Welcome to the Elevator World News Podcast. Today’s podcast news podcast is sponsored by elevatorbooks.com: www.elevatorbooks.com TKE First-Of-Its-Kind Twin Installation In Paris La Défense TKE installed two escalators and 16 lifts, including eight high-speed TWINs, featuring two cabins operating independently in one shaft for a total of 16 cabins, in the 33-story Trinity Tower, designed by Jean-Luc Crochon in Paris’ La Défense district. Two of the TWIN lifts operate in panoramic shafts that run the entire height of the building, including three machinery levels. Bright red and yellow were selected by Crochon for the cabin colors as a tribute to the Eiffel Tower’s historic elevators. TKE describes the installation as the first of its kind in the world. Office tenants enjoy views of La Défense, while passersby can see the elevators in motion. Trinity Tower was developed by Unibail-Roadmco-Westfield Group. Construction began in 2016 and was completed in November 2020. With “bioclimatic glass façades, which act

Welcome to the Elevator World News Podcast. Today’s podcast news podcast is sponsored by elevatorbooks.com: www.elevatorbooks.com UPDATE ON VT FOR NYC’S HISTORIC OFFICE-TO-CONDO CONVERSION The vertical-transportation (VT) system for One Wall Street, the largest-ever office-to-condo conversion in NYC, is approximately 65% complete, KONE Project Manager Ken Snowdon tells ELEVATOR WORLD. When EW reported on the project in October 2019, VT work was roughly 5% complete. Macklowe Properties is developing the 50-story, 90-year-old Art Deco building in the Financial District, and SLCE is the architect. The VT system includes 25 new elevators and involves subcontractors such as Mongrain Vertical Transport, Inc.; H&B Elevators; EDI/ECI; The Peelle Co.; Universal Supply, Inc.; and National Elevator Cab & Door Corp. New York YIMBY previously reported that One Wall Street’s 566 residences and a Whole Foods Market were expected to open by the end of 2021. Image credit: courtesy of the International Hildreth MeiereAssoci

Welcome to the Elevator World News Podcast. Today’s podcast news podcast is sponsored by elevatorbooks.com: www.elevatorbooks.com TKE PROVIDING 110 UNITS TO SHENZHEN AIRPORT CONCOURSE TKE is providing 40 elevators, 38 escalators, 30 moving walks and two platform lifts to Shenzhen Airport's new satellite concourse, set to open in June. Installation began in August 2020 and was scheduled for completion in March. Building on a relationship that included equipment for the airport's Terminal 3, the order includes two years of maintenance. The moving walks are equipped with rollers installed outside the step chains to facilitate easier maintenance and the installation of stronger bearings. The X-shaped, US$1.5-billion concourse encompasses 238,000 m2 and is expected to serve 22 million passengers per year upon completion. Its center boasts light-filled views up to a roof inspired by the area's winding rivers. Image credit: courtesy of TKE To read the full transcript of today's podcast, visit: elevatorworld.com

Welcome to the Elevator World News Podcast. Today’s podcast news podcast is sponsored by elevatorbooks.com: www.elevatorbooks.com AEG ACQUIRES BROOKLYN’S PRECISION American Elevator Group (AEG) has acquired Precision Elevator Corp., based in Brooklyn, New York, and specializing in maintenance, service, modernization and construction of hydraulic, traction and freight elevators throughout the Northeast, AEG announced on March 2. Bobby Schaeffer, CEO of D&D Elevator, which gained investment from AEG in summer 2020 (ELENET 852), observed the acquisition "further strengthens AEG's presence in the New York metro market and adds significant strength to our team." Precision Elevator owner Yuri Novak said he "looks forward to working with AEG to further develop our collective business opportunities." Image credit: courtesy of Precision Elevator To read the full transcript of today's podcast, visit: elevatorworld.com/news Subscribe to the Podcast: iTunes │ Google Play | SoundCloud │ Stitcher │ TuneIn

Welcome to the Elevator World News Podcast. Today’s podcast news podcast is sponsored by elevatorbooks.com: www.elevatorbooks.com SAUDI ARABIA’S VT INDUSTRY LOOKS TO POST-PANDEMIC RECOVERY Saudi Arabia's vertical-transportation (VT) industry is poised for recovery from the pandemic due to growing urbanization, increased high-rise construction and the government's Vision 2030 initiative, which involves megaprojects supported by new infrastructure, Arab News reported in February. Demand for elevators and escalators is expected to rebound quickly as projects delayed in 2020 restart. Global consultancy TechSci Research said the kingdom's VT market is projected to be worth US$1.34 billion by 2025, versus US$961 million in 2020. Additional factors driving recovery include growth in the real estate sector, technological advancements in the VT industry and increased direct foreign investment in retail and construction. Taimur Khan, an associate partner at consultancy Knight Frank, told the source he expects new con

Welcome to the Elevator World News Podcast. Today’s podcast news podcast is sponsored by elevatorbooks.com: www.elevatorbooks.com THYSSENKRUPP ELEVATOR BECOMES TK ELEVATOR; BRANDED TKE thyssenkrupp Elevator is now TK Elevator, branded TKE, the company announced on February 25. The new name and brand follows the company's becoming a standalone entity following its purchase by a consortium of Advent, Cinven and RAG AG in February 2020. Suggesting the energy and optimism of a sunrise, the purple and orange colors and bold appearance of the new logo points to the company's aspirations, TKE explained. "The new TKE brand is. . . a great opportunity to strengthen our market positioning and technology leadership in next-generation mobility services, TKE CEO Peter Walker said. “With the recent integration of our cloud-based digital platform MAX into all kinds of new elevator and escalator systems, we have made a significant step toward digitalization of our products and services." Image credit: courtesy of TKE To

Welcome to the Elevator World News Podcast. Today’s podcast news podcast is sponsored by elevatorbooks.com: www.elevatorbooks.com 1,053 APARTMENTS, RETAIL AND PARKING PLANNED IN CHICAGO A pair of towers designed by Solomon Cordwell Buenz and developed by Pacific Reach Properties at 601 West Monroe Street in Chicago’s West Loop Gate are set to contain a total of 1,053 apartments, parking and retail, Chicago YIMBY reports. Linked by a podium, the east tower will rise 47 stories and contain 537 apartments, 23,405 ft2 of retail space and 397 parking spots, and the 40-story west tower — adjacent to Heritage Green Park — will contain 516 apartments, 6,904 ft2 of retail and 33 parking spots in a garage. A 2018 plan for the site has evolved to omit a hotel and increase retail on the lower floors to encourage pedestrian activity. A construction timeline was not provided. Image credit: by SCB To read the full transcript of today's podcast, visit: elevatorworld.com/news Subscribe to the Podcast: iTunes │ Google Pl

Welcome to the Elevator World News Podcast. Today’s podcast news podcast is sponsored by elevatorbooks.com: www.elevatorbooks.com Supertalls Part Of Manhattan Empire Station Complex Plan New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the board of directors of Empire State Development (ESD) has adopted a general plan for high-density redevelopment of eight sites surrounding Penn Station in Midtown Manhattan, news outlets including New York YIMBY report. Five up-to-1,300-ft-tall supertalls, along with four additional "major skyscrapers," are included in the 20 million-ft2 Empire Station Complex plan to create office space, retail, hotels and residences. Backed by a draft environmental impact statement and set to include major infrastructure improvements and expansions to Penn Station, the ESD plan is slated for completion by 2038. The area is bound by Sixth and Ninth avenues to the east and west and by West 30th and West 34th streets to the south and north. Moynihan Station, which opened in late 2020, is regarded as the firs