Elevator World

Welcome to the Elevator World News Podcast. Today’s podcast news podcast is sponsored by elevatorbooks.com: www.elevatorbooks.com GOVERNOR, LANDLORDS AIM TO GET WORKERS BACK INTO OFFICES New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and building landlords are promoting a plan to get workers back into commercial offices, The Real Deal reported in January. Cuomo, during his second installment of the 2021 State of the State address, said rapid COVID-19 testing would be used in state-designated orange zones to open office buildings, along with restaurants and theaters. In orange zones, when COVID-19 has a 10-day rate of 4% infections and hospitals have 85% of their beds in use, limited outdoor dining and reduced-capacity operation at non-essential businesses are allowed. The plan involves opening hundreds of "pop-up" rapid testing sites where people can be quickly tested to engage in social activity or visit businesses. Many office buildings have been largely vacant since April 2020. Some companies have extended their deadlines fo

Welcome to the Elevator World News Podcast. Today’s podcast news podcast is sponsored by elevatorbooks.com: www.elevatorbooks.com CIBES LIFT GROUP EXPANDS SWEDISH FOOTPRINT WITH ACQUISITION Cibes Lift Group, a Swedish manufacturer specializing in low-speed lifts, expanded its domestic footprint with the acquisition of Upplands Hiss AB, Cibes announced on January 12. Based in Uppsala in central Sweden, Upplands Hiss has approximately 10 employees who service roughly 300 lifts. It will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Cibes, and all employees are being retained. Cibes CEO Per Lidström describes Upplands as “a strategically important complement” to Cibes and praised the company’s knowledge about modernization and platform lifts. Observing it has subsidiaries in 17 countries, Cibes also said it is looking to expand in the Stockholm area. Image credit: courtesy of Upplands Hiss AB To read the full transcript of today's podcast, visit: elevatorworld.com/news Subscribe to the Podcast: iTunes │ Google Play |

Welcome to the Elevator World News Podcast. Today’s podcast news podcast is sponsored by elevatorbooks.com: www.elevatorbooks.com PRYSMIAN GROUP COMPLETES ACQUISITION OF EHC GLOBAL Prysmian Group, headquartered in Milan, Italy, announced the acquisition of EHC Global, a "complementary add-on to Prysmian's Draka Elevator business," on January 8. Headquartered in Oshawa, Canada, with manufacturing and distribution facilities in North America, South America, Europe and China, EHC Global supplies escalator handrails, rollers, elevator belts and other components. Founded in 1977, EHC Global also provides a range of technical services for escalators and moving walks, including installation. Prysmian announced its plan to acquire 100% of EHC Global in July 2020. Draka offers more than 7,000 components for the vertical-transportation industry, and Prysmian said the acquisition of EHC Global is "in line with [its] strategy to grow and reinforce its value-added businesses." Image credit: courtesy of Prysmian Group

Welcome to the Elevator World News Podcast. Today’s podcast news podcast is sponsored by elevatorbooks.com: www.elevatorbooks.com SUPERTALL PLAN INVOLVES MADISON SQUARE GARDEN RELOCATION The New York City Council agreed during a meeting earlier this month to move forward with Garden City, a massive plan to relocate Madison Square Garden between two new supertalls of unspecified height in Midtown Manhattan, New York YIMBY reports. Including two shorter buildings, the plan was initially proposed by Vishaan Chakrabarti, founder of Practice for Architecture and Urbanism (PAU), in 2016. Illustrated by an array of renderings, the latest iteration includes preserving the cylindrical shape of Madison Square Garden but removing several floors, recladding the façade with a double-skin curtain wall and adding entryways. The venue would move to an eight-acre site bound by Sixth Avenue to the east, West 32nd Street to the south, Seventh Avenue to the west and West 34th Street to the north. Despite no heights being given,

Welcome to the Elevator World News Podcast. Today’s podcast news podcast is sponsored by elevatorbooks.com: www.elevatorbooks.com WILLIAMS PROMOTED TO PRESIDENT OF IDS LIFTNET Ricky Williams has been promoted to president of Integrated Display Systems LLC (IDS LiftNet). The company, founded by Winslow Soule and based in Chicago, develops internet of things passenger conveyance management and monitoring systems. Williams remains based in NYC. Prior to assuming the president role, Williams oversaw business development for more than five years. He has more than 28 years' industry experience, including engineering, new business development and sales positions at thyssenkrupp Elevator, and president and transition leader at Computerized Elevator Control Corp. Williams holds a BS in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from the New York Institute of Technology. Image credit: By Tumisu for Pixabay To read the full transcript of today's podcast, visit: elevatorworld.com/news Subscribe to the Podcast: iTunes │

Welcome to the Elevator World News Podcast. Today’s podcast news podcast is sponsored by elevatorbooks.com: www.elevatorbooks.com PERMIT PROPOSES 70-STORY TOWER ON NYC'S FIFTH AVENUE A permit has been filed to build a 70-story mixed-use tower in NYC's Midtown Manhattan neighborhood, on a site previously speculated for a taller design, New York YIMBY reported on January 7. Rabina Properties, listed as the owner behind the permit, seeks to build an 896-ft-tall skyscraper at 520 Fifth Avenue that would hold 523,188 ft2: 353,196 ft2 set for commercial use, and 169,992 ft2 holding 98 residences. Kohn Pedersen Fox is listed as the architect of record. Plans for the site in 2019 showed a rendering of a 76-story, 920-ft-tall glass tower, with Ceruzzi Properties and SMI USA developing a mixed-use building that would include retail space and a 208-room hotel. The rendering by Handel Architects was being referred to as the first building on Fifth Avenue to rise above 900 ft. No construction timeline was reported. Ima

Welcome to the Elevator World News Podcast. Today’s podcast news podcast is sponsored by elevatorbooks.com: www.elevatorbooks.com GRAND CENTRAL SUBWAY ENTRANCES UNVEILED Schindler tells ELEVATOR WORLD it provided five 9700 escalators and three elevators for the new entrances to the NYC Metropolitan Transportation Authority's (MTA) Grand Central-42nd Street subway station at One Vanderbilt, a 67-story office supertall developed by SL Green and designed by Kohn Pederson Fox in Midtown Manhattan. The elevators are by Mongrain Vertical Transport with CEC Elevator Cab Corp. cabs and entrances. MTA and SL Green held a grand opening for the subway entrance in December 2020, reported by outlets including Mass Transit, which pointed out SL Green invested US$220 million in the new entrances. They will ease access to numerous subway lines and the Metro-North Railroad from one of MTA's busiest subway stations. MTA President of Construction & Development Janno Lieber described the project as an “example of how the MTA is

Welcome to the Elevator World News Podcast. Today’s podcast news podcast is sponsored by elevatorbooks.com: www.elevatorbooks.com CHANGING OF THE GUARD, HONORS FOR ZIEHL-ABEGG German manufacturer Ziehl-Abegg announced that Uwe Ziehl, grandson of company founder Emil Ziehl, has passed the leadership reins to his children, Dennis Ziehl and Sindia Ziehl, who now serve as supervisory board chair and member, respectively. The pair attended more than 80 board meetings over the past several years to prepare for their roles. Dennis Ziehl is also director of ZIEHL industrie-elektronik GmbH + Co. KG, which designs and produces electronic devices, and is a member of the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Uwe Ziehl was also recently presented with the Medal of Economy by Baden-Württemberg, Germany, Minister of Finance and Economy Nils Schmid for Ziehl-Abegg's contributions to the area economy. The company, which manufactures products that include elevator drives, has approximately 4,300 employees, including 2,400

Welcome to the Elevator World News Podcast. Today’s podcast news podcast is sponsored by elevatorbooks.com: www.elevatorbooks.com CENTRAL PARK TOWER CONSTRUCTION SET TO WRAP UP NYC’s Central Park Tower, the tallest building by roof height in the Western Hemisphere and tallest residential skyscraper in the world, is nearly complete and should be open sometime in 2021, New York YIMBY reported on December 31, 2020. With an elevator system designed and built by Otis, the landmark, at 217 West 57th Street in Midtown Manhattan, is a glass supertall lording over Billionaires' Row. With 179 condominiums, developer Extell expects the 1,550-ft-tall tower to bring a US$4-billion sellout. The latest photos show the building, designed by Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill, lacks only minor work around the crown and an exterior hoist still attached but the construction crane completely removed. The adjacent Nordstrom flagship store at West 57th Street and Broadway is open to the public, even as construction work continues. Imag

Welcome to the Elevator World News Podcast. Today’s podcast news podcast is sponsored by elevatorbooks.com: www.elevatorbooks.com REVISED CHICAGO STREETERVILLE PLAN TO MOVE FORWARD Big revisions to a plan from Related Midwest for a pair of towers on the former Chicago Spire site means the Skidmore, Owings & Merrill-designed development on more than two acres at 400 North Lake Shore Drive in the Streeterville neighborhood will move forward, Chicago YIMBY reports. Chicago Alderman Brendan Reilly had previously objected to a hotel inclusion, podium size and traffic and security plans. Those have all been addressed, and then some, with both the Zoning Committee and City Council approving the updated plan. Including an 875-ft-tall, northern tower and a 765-ft-tall southern one, on the drawing board are 1,100 residential units, 300 parking spaces, US$10 million to develop DuSable Park across the street, new security cameras and lighting and improved pedestrian crossings. Gone are hotel rooms, condominiums and the

Welcome to the Elevator World News Podcast. Today’s podcast news podcast is sponsored by elevatorbooks.com: www.elevatorbooks.com HITACHI ELEVATOR (CHINA) CELEBRATES 25TH ANNIVERSARY A number of trade associations and government representatives gathered in Guangzhou on December 25 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Hitachi Elevator (China), Yahoo Finance reported. Guests noted that Hitachi Elevator's growth has brought economic benefits, promoted China's technological development in areas such as elevators and touch panels, and helped upgrade Guangzhou's industrial structure. During the ceremony, Hitachi Elevator was observed to have made strides in industrial layout, operation technology and IT to fuel the company's growth. It created a network of five elevator factories and two parts factories in the cities of Guangzhou, Shanghai, Tianjin and Chengdu; achieved 100% IoT production; and implemented product lifecycle management. The company was also lauded for building one of the world's tallest test towers

Welcome to the Elevator World News Podcast. Today’s podcast news podcast is sponsored by elevatorbooks.com: www.elevatorbooks.com KONE WINS 50-ELEVATOR ORDER FOR SHENZHEN KONE has won an order to deliver 50 elevators to GDH City, a new, two-tower mixed-use development in Shenzhen, China, the company announced on December 22. Sometimes referred to as the “Silicon Valley of China”, Shenzhen is a global technology hub and home to more 200-m-plus skyscrapers than any other city in the world. The two GDH City towers, standing 180 and 303 m, will offer business apartments and commercial space, including a 100,000 m2 mall. KONE will deliver 46 MiniSpace™ elevators and four MiniSpace double-deck elevators. The buildings will be equipped with KONE's Destination Control System and E-Link™ monitoring system, which can keep track of the performance of all the equipment in real time from a single location. The contract also includes two years of standard maintenance. The project, under development by Guangdong Land Holdi

Welcome to the Elevator World News Podcast. Today’s podcast news podcast is sponsored by elevatorbooks.com: www.elevatorbooks.com HITACHI (CHINA) DELIVERS FIRST OF 361 ELEVATORS FOR PROJECT Hitachi Elevator (China) took part in a ceremony on December 17 to mark delivery of the first of 361 elevators it will provide for Group B2, a large residential development in the Rongdong District of Xiong'an New Area, the company announced. Group B2 is a resettlement housing project consisting of 92 residential buildings, an office building, a kindergarten and separate primary school and a community activity center. Hitachi is providing all elevators and related services. The site is being overseen by Beijing Construction Engineering Group Co. Work on the project began in April 2020, but a completion date was not reported. Also during the ceremony, Hitachi noted that, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, it delivered more than 110,000 elevators in 2020, the first time it had achieved that single-year milestone. Image credit

CIBES LIFT GROUP ACQUIRES U.K.'S TITAN ELEVATORS Gävle, Sweden-based Cibes Lift Group has acquired Titan Elevators of Sidcup, U.K., Global Legal Chronicle reported on December 15. The move is to strengthen Cibes' presence in the London area and mark an expansion of its U.K. business by adding modernization services and high-speed lifts to its offerings. Titan Elevators services include lift installation, repair, modernization and maintenance, but the company also offers bespoke and standardized lifts for various applications. Since its founding in 1997, Titan Elevators has experienced a growing customer base in the London and Home County areas. A specialty is the company's custom solutions in the luxury segment of the high-speed lift market. Cibes Lift Group is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of space-efficient lifts for both home and business use. Image credit: courtesy of Titan Elevators To read the full transcript of today's podcast, visit: elevatorworld.com/news Subscribe to the Podcast: iTu

Welcome to the Elevator World News Podcast. Today’s podcast news podcast is sponsored by elevatorbooks.com: www.elevatorbooks.com CHICAGO TOWER WITH OTIS ELEVATORS NEARLY COMPLETE The third, 41-story mixed-use tower in Onni Group's Old Town Park development on Chicago's Near North Side is nearing completion, with the glass curtain wall reaching the final floors, Chicago YIMBY reports. Located at 228 West Hill Street, the tower includes four Otis elevators equipped with a destination-dispatch system for occupants of 456 apartments, Paul Alessandro, partner with project architect Hartshorne Plunkard Architecture (HPA) tells ELEVATOR WORLD. Offices and a sixth-floor amenity deck will also be offered. The design includes long rows of balconies with dividing walls between units and a ribbon-like element wrapping around the exterior. Joining two previously completed towers, the structure is slated for completion in 2021. Image credit: courtesy of Onni Group/HPA To read the full transcript of today's podcast, v

Welcome to the Elevator World News Podcast. Today’s podcast news podcast is sponsored by elevatorbooks.com: www.elevatorbooks.com KONE SUPPLYING NEARLY 300 ESCALATORS TO BEIJING METRO KONE has won an order to supply 297 escalators for two segments of the new Metro Line 12 in Beijing, the company announced on December 15. Line 12, stretching 29.3 km, will run an east-west route through four main districts of the capital city. Its 21 stations will be entirely underground, with 15 of them connecting to other lines. KONE will equip stations from Sijiqing to Jimenqiao with 171 of its TransitMaster™ 140 escalators, and stations from Sanyuanqiao to Guanzhuangluxikou with 126 of the same model. The Beijing Subway, with 23 lines and around 700 km in total length, is the longest and busiest metro system in the world. Line 12 will help relieve traffic pressure in the city center. The project is expected to be completed by the end of 2021. The main architect is China Railway Electrification Survey Design & Research Inst

Welcome to the Elevator World News Podcast. Today’s podcast news podcast is sponsored by elevatorbooks.com: www.elevatorbooks.com HONG KONG’S TAIKOO PLACE EVOLVES WITH LATEST TOWER Swire Properties’ multiple-tower “global business district” Taikoo Place in Hong Kong continues to evolve with the debut of one its latest towers: a 24-story, 37-apartment structure called Eight Star Street in the Starstreet District, building.hk reported on November 25. Scheduled for completion in 2022, Eight Star Street will offer residences of varying sizes and configurations, with a focus on “smart living.” Residents will be able to use apps to call elevators, the South China Morning Post recently reported. Also with completion anticipated in 2022, the 46-story Two Taikoo Place will bring an additional 1 million ft2 of office space to the district. It will join the 48-story One Taikoo Space, completed in 2018 and served by 40 Schindler elevators and escalators. Image credit: from Swire Properties To read the full transcrip

Welcome to the Elevator World News Podcast. Today’s podcast news podcast is sponsored by elevatorbooks.com: www.elevatorbooks.com HITACHI LAUNCHES LITTLE ELEVATOR MASTER TRAINING MANUAL In partnership with Guangzhou Publishing House, Hitachi Elevator (China) Co., Ltd. launched Little Elevator Master Training Manual, a book aimed at teaching children elevator principles and safety, during an event in Guangzhou, China, on December 9. The book is part of Hitachi Elevator's continuing efforts to promote safe elevator use among children. In 2018, the OEM published Amazing Journey of Elevator, based on the China Ministry of Education's Guidelines for Public Safety and Education in Primary and Secondary Schools. In May 2018, Hitachi Elevator began the "Shared Reading on Safe Elevator Riding" program and has since worked with public-education entities in locations like Guangzhou, Shanghai and Tianjin to promote the program. With the latest book, Hitachi Elevator aims to help children understand elevators' history an

Welcome to the Elevator World News Podcast. Today’s podcast news podcast is sponsored by elevatorbooks.com: www.elevatorbooks.com RESIDENTIAL TOWER TO INTEGRATE WITH COMMUNITY IN CHICAGO "Elevators treated with a consistent material finish" will serve a 33-story, 375-ft-tall residential tower designed by Solomon Cordwell Buenz (SCB) and developed by The Habitat Co. at 344 North Canal Street in Chicago's Fulton River District, Chicago YIMBY reports. Set to take shape on the site of the Cassidy Tire building, which will be demolished, the tower will include 343 units of various sizes, parking for cars and bicycles and ground-floor retail. The main entrance on North Canal Street will be incorporated with a public plaza and retail. Pedestrian paths will wind through the site to connect North Canal and North Clinton streets, and there will be public art on the adjacent railroad abutments. A construction timeline was not provided. Image credit: by SCB To read the full transcript of today's podcast, visit: ele

Welcome to the Elevator World News Podcast. Today’s podcast news podcast is sponsored by elevatorbooks.com: www.elevatorbooks.com TOUCHLESS APP “FIRST” PART OF OTIS SINGAPORE PROJECT Otis Singapore integrated its eCallTM mobile app with the existing smart building app at the 66-story, 22-year-old Republic Plaza office building in downtown Singapore, Otis announced on December 8. Done in collaboration with property owner City Developments Ltd. and implementing an application programming interface — allowing thw apps to "talk" to one another — for the first time for Otis, the technology was part of the modernization of an elevator system that includes 15 double-deck lifts. Work also included installation of the CompassPlus® destination-dispatch system. After downloading the tower's CityNexus app, tenants use eCall to summon an elevator as they approach it, helping them avoid touching any public surfaces. Image credit: by Huaiwei for Wikimedia Commons To read the full transcript of today's podcast, visit: