Elevator World

Welcome to the Elevator World News Podcast. Today’s podcast news podcast is sponsored by elevatorbooks.com: www.elevatorbooks.com

TKE PROVIDES 15 ACCESSIBILITY UNITS TO IRISH RETAILER IN SPAIN

TK Elevator (TKE) provided six evolution elevators and nine velino escalators to the new, four-story Primark shopping center in Bilbao, Spain. At 4,550 m2, the store, in the heart of Biscay’s capital, is one of the largest operated by the Irish retailer in Europe. Manufactured at the TKE factory in Mieres, Asturias, Spain, the velino escalators can adapt to high-traffic conditions with expected use of 20 hr a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. TKE also responded to the retailer’s needs for custom escalator finishes and features, including 1.1-m-high balustrades with pladur® cladding, LED base lighting and fall-arrest barriers. Elevators are outfitted with high-traffic-operation, front-facing doors, high-resistance stainless steel door sill plates, vandal-proof push buttons, pre-installed security cameras and connections to the building-management system.

Image credit: courtesy of Primark/Cloud9

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

URBAN ELEVATOR ANNOUNCES THREE NEW PRESIDENTS

Urban Elevator has named Thomas E. Cook, Justin Richards and Edward J. Pleban as regional presidents, the company recently announced. Cook will lead the U.S. South/East region; Richards is taking on the U.S. Central area; and Pleban is in charge of the U.S. West. Cook has been at Urban Elevator for approximately 10 years, prior to which he spent time in senior sales roles at thyssenkrupp and Cintas. He earned a BS degree from Northern Illinois University and lives in Frankfort, Illinois. Richards, with Urban Elevator for more than three years, previously spent 10 years with TK Elevator, first in sales and business development, and later as a branch manager. He holds a BA from Western Michigan University and lives in Elgin, Illinois. Pleban, with more than 30 years’ experience in the elevator industry, recently joined Urban Elevator. He previously held executive roles at Millar Elevator, Schindler Limited UK and BOCA Group International. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Penn State University, his MBA from St. Thomas University and an MS from the University of Colorado. He lives in Littleton, Colorado.

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

TILTING SAN FRANCISCO TOWER FACES NEW PROBLEM

San Francisco’s Millennium Tower, a 58-story residential high rise that has been the target of numerous lawsuits over its sinking, tilting foundation, is facing new problems: the building’s lean is changing the angle of some of its sewer lines, causing sewage backups, NBC CT reports. The sewer lines must slope at least 1/8 in. per foot for proper flow but, according to the designer of the project repairing the tower’s tilt, lines opposite the lean “will experience decreased slope and may become a problem.” The issue was raised when the building continued to tilt after work began to stabilize the foundation. The lean, now 22 in. — it was 17 in. when work started in May — is flattening the angle of some of the sewer lines by as much as 25%. The suggested solution is to adjust the level of hundreds of pipes, but that should wait until the building is stabilized. The foundation work began in November 2020 and, at the time, was expected to take two years. Engineers have found no signs of “distress” in the tower’s elevator system, the designer said.

Image credit: by Michaelgimbel for Wikipedia

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

TKE ESCALATOR, ELEVATOR SOLUTIONS SERVE EXPO 2020 DUBAI

"Smart and future-oriented" elevator and escalator systems from TK Elevator (TKE) are serving several national pavilions at Expo 2020 Dubai through March 31, 2022. The main site of the global event, set to begin on October 1, is a 438-ha area near Dubai's southern border with Abu Dhabi, where more than 190 nations are showcasing architecture, culture and innovations. Among TKE's best-selling products, velino 200 and velino 300 escalators are installed at the Kazakhstan, Russia and Saudi Arabia pavilions. velino series escalators are customizable, outfitted with various sustainability features and more than 50 intelligent safety features. At the German and Saudi Arabia pavilions are tugela escalators, which TKE describes as heavy-duty and highly customizable. In addition to escalators, TKE machine-room-less (MRL) elevators are featured in the Germany, Kazakhstan, Luxembourg, Saudi Arabia and Russia pavilions. These same MRLs are also installed at the partner pavilions of DP World and Emirates.

Image credit: © German Pavilion

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

2021 ELLIES WINNERS ANNOUNCED

Elevator World, Inc. President T. Bruce MacKinnon announced the 2021 Ellies Awards winners during a live Zoom event on September 23. MacKinnon and the EW staff thank all for their participation in a fun and exciting program that has only grown during each of its four years. Ellies are 100% voted on and chosen by the industry, and provide an outlet for customers and peers to show their respect, trust and appreciation. This year, there were more than 25,000 verified votes, 110 nominated companies and 19 company-type categories. Each winner receives a custom Ellies trophy, and EW will have an official trophy presentation during the National Association of Elevator Contractors 2021 Convention & Exposition in New Orleans on October 4-7. Winners not attending will be mailed trophies, and photos of all winners will be featured in the December issue of EW.

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

TKE JOINS PROGRAM TO REDUCE EMBODIED CARBON IN PROJECTS

TK Elevator (TKE) announced in a press release it has joined materialsCAN, a program committed to acting on the smart, sustainable prioritization of embodied carbon in building materials as well as driving better understanding of the carbon footprint of projects across the industry. Established in 2018 by non-profit Building Transparency, materialsCAN includes a group of sustainability leaders in the built space who are committed to bringing awareness to the importance of embodied carbon. The group works to provide those who own, lease, design or construct spaces with education and tools to better understand the carbon footprints of their projects, specifically through measuring the embodied carbon of specified materials. Earlier this year, TKE announced it was partnering with the Department of Energy through the Better Buildings Initiative on a Low Carbon Pilot at its manufacturing facility in Middleton, Tennessee. The program will help TKE reach the carbon targets set last year of reducing scope 1 and 2 emissions by 25% by 2030 and by 50% by 2040. These aggressive carbon goals helped contribute to TKE receiving an 'A' rating in 2020 from global environmental non-profit Carbon Disclosure Project for its climate-change efforts. Recently, TKE also joined the Business Ambition for 1.5°C and Race to Zero Campaigns as it pursues achieving net-zero carbon by 2050.

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

KONE SUPPLYING 106 VT UNITS FOR SHENZHEN PROJECT

KONE has won a contract to deliver 106 vertical-transportation (VT) units to the Dayan and Huang Mugang transportation hub in Shenzhen, China, the company announced on September 23. The hub, located in the Futian Central District, will serve the existing line 7, the new line 14 and a planned line 24, and is designed to give travelers easier access to different transportation modes through convenient transfers. KONE is providing 25 MonoSpace® elevators and 81 TransitMaster™ escalators. The elevators will have KONE’s Destination Control System, which will help reduce waiting and traveling times. The contract includes two years of standard maintenance. The project is expected to be completed by mid-2023.

Image credit: courtesy of KONE

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

OTIS NAMES HEAD OF ETHICS AND COMPLIANCE IN APAC REGION

Mekhla Basu, director and corporate counsel for the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region at the U.S.-headquartered software firm Splunk, Inc. is set to join Otis as senior director and head of Ethics and Legal Compliance for the APAC region, The Economic Times reports. After graduating from ILS Law College in Pune in 2005, she started her career in private practice. In 2008, she joined Hindustan Unilever before holding various leadership roles, such as general counsel and ethics and compliance head, for companies like GE, IBM and Intel for both India and the Greater Asia region. “Basu’s knowledge and expertise in the regulatory requirements, corporate governance, antitrust, IP, IT, privacy and data security, labor and employment, FCPA, anti-bribery and other laws applicable to multinational companies made her a fitting choice for the role,” according to a person familiar with the development. “Basu will be responsible for guiding the U.S. manufacturing and engineering major for ethics and compliance culture across the entire Asia-Pacific region.” She will be based out of the company’s Singapore office.

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

OTIS LAUNCHES ZWTL PROGRAM AT SOUTH CAROLINA FACILITY

The Otis manufacturing facility in Florence, South Carolina, has begun a pilot “Zero Waste to Landfill (ZWTL)” program that will help reduce the plant’s carbon footprint and be scaled up to other Otis plants next year, the company has announced. Metal, cardboard and packaging make up most of the waste at the Florence plant. And, while the site already recycled much of its production waste, the facility recently conducted a sustainability analysis to help reduce its carbon footprint and obtain ZWTL certification. Zero waste is a principle focused on waste prevention that encourages the redesign of resource lifecycles so that all products are reused. This program also promotes conservation of resources by means of responsible production, consumption, reuse and recovery of all products — packaging and materials — without burning them and without land, water or air discharges that threaten the environment or human health. Companies attain certification through several means, including having formal policies to limit waste generation and demonstrating reduction efforts through redesign, reuse or recycling. Otis aims to have all its global factories eligible for certification by 2025, part of its recently announced long-term Environmental, Social & Governance goals.

Image credit: courtesy of Otis

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

FEAR OF COVID LEADS TO ESCALATOR FALLS IN LONDON

Officials with the London Underground report that passengers are falling down Tube station escalators because fear of catching COVID-19 is making them reluctant to hold onto the handrail, Evening Standard reports. London Underground chiefs say a spike in accidents is also being blamed on intoxicated passengers celebrating the end of lockdown. Twelve deaths or serious injuries have been reported on the Tube between April and June, and 23 on buses — an increase compared to the same three-month period last year. Transport for London (TfL) plans to expand a trial, launched last year, that attaches ultraviolet (UV) light devices to handrails to eradicate the COVID-19 virus. A TfL spokesman said 93 escalators had been fitted with UV virus-busting units by September, and a further 340 were due to be installed by the end of 2021.

Image credit: courtesy of MyLondon

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

Subscribe to the Podcast: iTunes │ Google Play | SoundCloud │ Stitcher │ TuneIn