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

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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 its founding, handling day-to-day management of the firm and delivery of consulting services.

To read the full transcript of today's podcast, visit: elevatorworld.com/news

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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 [email protected]. 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 [email protected]. You may also visit http://www.vfa-interlift.de.

Image credit: courtesy of VFA Interlift

To read the full transcript of today's podcast, visit: elevatorworld.com/news

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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: by Harrison Leong for Wikimedia Commons

To read the full transcript of today's podcast, visit: elevatorworld.com/news

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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

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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

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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 site.

To read the full transcript of today's podcast, visit: elevatorworld.com/news

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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 art and cultural hubs.

Image credit: Courtesy of SOM

To read the full transcript of today's podcast, visit: elevatorworld.com/news

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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 transcript of today's podcast, visit: elevatorworld.com/news

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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: elevatorworld.com/news

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