Elevator World

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

CURTAIN WALL RISING ON ART DECO-INSPIRED TOWER IN NYC

The Art Deco-inspired curtain wall is mostly installed on the northern elevation of the 639-ft-tall, 45-story Rose Hill residential tower at 30 East 29th Street between Madison and Park avenues in NYC’s NoMad neighborhood, New York YIMBY reports. Offering 123 condominiums with prices starting at US$1.2 million, the property was designed by CetraRuddy for developer Rockefeller Group. On the southern elevation, which has a concrete wall in the center for egress and the elevator core, progress is a little slower, with the corners currently being “covered with the subtly etched dark metal cladding and glass panels,” the source says. Joining several other residential towers on NoMad’s “booming skyline,” Rose Hill is slated for completion in January 2021.

Image credit: by Michael Young for New York YIMBY

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

KONE SAYS IT HAS MADE BID FOR THYSSENKRUPP ELEVATOR

KONE has submitted a nonbinding offer to acquire thyssenkrupp Elevator, the Finland-based OEM announced on January 28, adding that its offer "is reasonably close to the value circulating in the media." Recent reports have valued thyssenkrupp Elevator, the German conglomerate's most-profitable division, at EUR15 billion-EUR17 billion (US$16.6 billion-US$18.9 billion). KONE said its bid "is based on certain assumptions about the business, and the terms of a potential binding offer could deviate from the current nonbinding offer." It said its interest in thyssenkrupp Elevator revolves around a "highly complementary geographical footprint of the businesses," in addition to other factors, including the potential that could arise from combining the companies' innovation efforts. KONE said its discussions with thyssenkrupp have been on a non-exclusive basis. Earlier reports said KONE may team up with private equity firm CVC, but the announcement made no mention of such a partnership. Other potential bidders have been named in previous reports, including several teams of investment firms and one other OEM, Japan-based Hitachi Elevator.

Image credit: courtesy of Wikipedia

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

AUSTRALIA’S FIRST THYSSENKRUPP IWALKS INSTALLED AT AIRPORTS

Australia's first thyssenkrupp iwalks, including two of the longest ever produced at 92 m, are being installed at the Perth and Melbourne airports, the OEM announced on January 27. The 92-m units will serve the 280-m-long Skybridge at Perth Airport that links to a new train station. In total, four iwalks and three elevators — that together have a capacity of 66 passengers — are going in at the airport. The iwalks have a capacity of 7,300 passengers/hr and will support approximately 20,000 trips per day at the airport's Forrestfield-Airport link. At Melbourne Airport, thyssenkrupp put two iwalks into operation at Terminal 4 in December 2019. Two more are scheduled for installation in March.

Image credit: courtesy of thyssenkrupp

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

FINAL TOWER COMPLETED FOR LONDON PROJECT

Construction of the 50-story Principal Tower, the final piece of the Principal Place project that borders the City of London, has completed, the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat reports, citing Foster + Partners. Principal Place, a comprehensively planned mixed-use project on the border of Shoreditch near the heart of London, creates a new neighborhood that draws on the industrial heritage of the area. The project includes a 15-story office building that hosts the London headquarters for Amazon, which sits next to Principal Tower, one of London’s tallest residential buildings. There are also six eateries and a bar.

Image credit: by Nigel Young/Foster+Partners

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

1,000-ROOM, GENSLER-DESIGNED HOTEL TO SERVE ATLANTA

Construction is expected to start this spring on a more-than-30-story, 1,000-room Signia Hilton Hotel with a sleek, glassy design by Gensler overlooking Mercedes-Benz Stadium in downtown Atlanta, Curbed Atlanta reports. As what will be the "most visible part of the Georgia World Congress Center (GWCC) (convention center) Authority's 2020 Vision master plan," the hotel will be connected to Building C of the complex. Including approximately 75,000 ft2 of meeting space, the hotel is expected to attract conventioneers, sports fans and tourists. GWCC is described by the source as "one of the busiest convention centers in the world." Signia Hilton will join another Gensler-designed hotel rising nearby in Castleberry Hill, the 11-story Reverb by Hard Rock.

Image credit: courtesy of Gensler

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

SCHMERSAL TURKEY OPENS IN ISTANBUL

K.A. Schmersal Holding GmbH & Co. KG has opened Schmersal Turkey Otomasyon Ürünleri ve Hizmetleri Ltd. Şti in Istanbul, expanding its global machine-safety network that consists of standalone companies and distributors in more than 60 countries. Led by Schmersal Turkey Managing Director Bariş Yücel, the new branch is focused on the Turkey and Azerbaijan markets. Through a sales partnership with Satech Safety Technology SpA, Schmersal offers customers devices such as safety fences and complete safety systems from a single source, Yücel observes. In addition to safety-related products, Schmersal offers its tec.nicum safety-services program supported by TÜV Rheinland-certified engineers. Schmersal Turkey may be contacted at Gardenya Plaza 5 Kat: 2 Daire: 2, Atasehir, Istanbul, Turkey; phone: 90 534 033 33 96; or email.

Image credit: courtesy of Schmersal

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

HITACHI CHINA COMPLETES GUANGZHOU TEST TOWER

Hitachi Elevator China Co. Ltd. has completed construction of the H1 Tower, one of the tallest elevator test towers in the world, Yahoo Finance reported on January 17. The tower is part of the company's R&D and manufacturing facility in Guangzhou, China. The 288.8-m structure — which has 273 m above ground and a 15-m-deep basement — will be used to develop elevators and demonstrate leading-edge technologies, and will function as a global base for Tokyo-headquartered Hitachi's elevator and escalator business. It is equipped with 15 test shafts, including one 250 m long, and can test such technologies as ultra-high-speed elevators, high-capacity elevators, double-deck elevators and control systems.

Image credit: courtesy of Hitachi Elevator China

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

FOSTER WINS ANOTHER SHOT AT TWO WORLD TRADE CENTER DESIGN

The job for the design of Two World Trade Center, a long-awaited tower for the WTC complex in NYC's Financial District, has been returned to original architect Norman Foster of Foster + Partners, New York YIMBY reports. Also known as 200 Greenwich Street, the proposed tower would be the final piece of the 16-acre site. Foster's original 2006 design envisioned a diamond-topped skyscraper, with the shapes pointing down at the reflecting pools of the 9/11 Memorial. The project stalled in the early 2010s, and, in 2015, the design work was transferred to Bjarke Ingels of BIG, who proposed a tower composed of a stack of giant glass blocks. Construction was delayed after potential anchor tenant 21st Century Fox and News Corp. withdrew, and in 2018, Larry Silverstein, head of developer Silverstein Properties, indicated to YIMBY that Foster's design was still under consideration. The Foster design called for a 79-story, 1,350-ft-tall, glass tower holding just under 3 million ft2 of office space. The report indicated that Foster's original design would be "updated," but no specifics or renderings were given.

Image credit: courtesy of Foster + Partners via dezeen

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

LERCH BATES ANNOUNCES NEW PRESIDENT, ACQUISITION

Lerch Bates Inc. has named Eric Rupe president, effective January 1. In this role, he oversees all aspects of the consulting business globally, including elevators and escalators, façade access and building logistics. Headquartered in Englewood, Colorado, Lerch Bates has offices throughout North America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, India and South America. Rupe joined Lerch Bates in 2010 with 20 years of sales, operations and management experience, including corporate positions with KONE. He held various roles at Lerch Bates, including elevator consultant, general manager Chicago, Northeast area vice president and executive vice president. Bart Stephan, former president and CEO, has become CEO of the parent company of Lerch Bates and Pie Consulting and Engineering, an Arvada, Colorado-headquartered firm Lerch Bates acquired late last year. At the time, Lerch Bates observed, “Pie is a recognized expert in building enclosure consulting and forensic engineering services, bringing an added dimension to the existing vertical transportation, façade access and logistic consulting units at Lerch Bates.”

Image credit: courtesy of Lerch Bates

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

THYSSENKRUPP PROVIDES 234 UNITS TO NEW CHINA METRO LINE

thyssenkrupp Elevator is providing 234 elevators and escalators to Metro Line 1 in Luoyang, central China, one of four historical capitals where 15 dynasties ruled. The first metro line serving the region, Metro Line 1 has 19 stops along 23 km, covering the main passenger flow in the east-west direction north of the Luohe River. Escalator installation is slated for completion in August, with the metro line set to go into operation in 2021. thyssenkrupp observes the contract underscores its focus on the Chinese market, where it inaugurated a new test tower in Zhongshan in 2019 and opened a multipurpose facility in Shanghai in 2016. Throughout China, thyssenkrupp has four factories and approximately 11,000 employees.

Image credit: courtesy of thyssenkrupp Elevator

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