Saturday, June 28, 2008

Schindler elevator meets need for green products

Schindler Elevator Corporation is seeing enduring demand for its hydraulic elevator products. Offering a complete holeless solution for a wide range of low-rise applications, including office buildings, retail locations, hotels, hospitals, schools and more, Schindler's 330A hydraulic elevator system features an advanced, eco-friendly design that completely eliminates the below-grade jack-hole.The Schindler 330A telescoping jack system features above ground hydraulics mounted directly on the floor of a simple, self-contained pit, thereby eliminating the need for drilling holes in the ground and avoiding the potential for below-ground leaks. As the elevator ascends, all stages of the telescoping pistons extend in smooth synchronization, producing a solid and comfortable ride for passengers. Since the jack design only has minimal interface with the hoistway, it greatly simplifies installation in existing structures and reduces hoistway preparation in new buildings.

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Kone Centre will 'most definitely' move forward, developer says

Plans to build the 18-story Kone Centre in downtown Moline will “most definitely” move forward, developer Rodney Blackwell said Wednesday.Aldermen doubted the project’s future when Blackwell failed to appear at a Committee-of-the-Whole meeting Tuesday night to answer questions about his finances and give an update.Blackwell said he planned to issue a joint statement on the project’s status with Kone, the elevator company that’s expected to move its headquarters into the proposed building at 17th Street and River Drive, and Renew Moline, either Wednesday or today. No statement was received Wednesday.Blackwell would not detail what the statement will address but said it will be “very positive.” He referred further questions until after the statement is released.Ray Forsythe, Moline’s economic development director, said Blackwell contacted Lew Steinbrecher, the city administrator, Wednesday morning and plans to meet with city staff and attend next week’s City Council meeting where the agreement could be revisited.“Rodney has committed to getting the information that we need,” he said. “We’ll be getting together by the end of the week to review everything.”A Kone official said the company is still committed to moving into the new tower. “We’re working directly with Rodney and we’re continuing to go forward with the project,” Kurt Stepaniak, Kone’s senior vice president of law and business development, said Wednesday afternoon.The City Council took no action Tuesday on an agreement with Blackwell and Financial District Properties K.P. that would give the developer a 90 percent rebate on new property taxes generated by the project, which equals $17.5 million over 23 years.The city plans to create a new tax increment financing district for the area around the proposed tower, replacing an old district that expires in 2021, Forsythe said. The project needs a 23-year TIF district to support the rebate.In December, the city council agreed to sell $7.5 million in bonds to fund a loan to Blackwell, managing principal of Financial District Properties K.P., so he could purchase downtown buildings owned by Kone. Kone will then lease space in Blackwell’s tower. Kone will lease back its property from Blackwell while the new tower is being built.Alderwoman Dorothy Armstrong, Ward 7, said Blackwell called her Wednesday morning and said he was going to sign the lease with Kone Wednesday. The discussion left Armstrong feeling more optimistic about the project’s future.“You get those leases signed and let’s move forward,” Armstrong remarked.Armstrong wants to see a breakdown of Blackwell’s finances before a final decision is made by the council.“We’ve got to see the pro forma for that piece of property downtown or you don’t get it done,” Armstrong said. “If we get the pro forma and lease agreement, chances are we’ll pass it.”Armstrong said Blackwell told her he didn’t attend Tuesday’s meeting because he didn’t know the agreement was going to be discussed.

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Brussels steps up cartel fight with first damages claim

Brussels is seeking millions of euros in damages from four international lift companies that it has found guilty of running a decade-long price-fixing cartel.
The European Commission has fined Otis of the US, Finland's Kone, Swiss-based Schindler and Germany's ThyssenKrupp a total of €992m ($1.5bn, £784m).
But yesterday the Commission said it was taking the four to court in Belgiumover a claim of financial damage caused by inflated contract prices for its buildings and those of other EU institutions in Brussels and Luxembourg. The multi-million euro contracts covered the installation and maintenance of lifts and escalators from 1995 to 2004.
It is the first time Brussels has sued a cartel on its own behalf in the civil courts and comes as the Commission puts increasing pressure on companies that fix prices.
Fines have risen sharply underguidelines linking them more closely to the size of the market affected and the duration of the abuse. Brussels raised more than €3.3bn in cartel fines last year compared with €390m in 2004 and there is speculation two more blockbuster penaltiesare in the pipeline.
Officials have also been trying to help private victims to win damages. The Commission's competition department this year forwarded proposals to make it easier for groups of consumers to bring proceedings against cartels.
"We are leading by example," Neelie Kroes, competition commissioner, said.
The Commission would not specify the amount of damages it sought, but did hint that the move would not be its last: itis consideringaction against 10 Belgium-based removal companies found guilty of cartel behaviour and fined nearly €33m this year.
Schindler, the only one of the four lift companies to comment yesterday, said that there had been evidence of collusion but that it did not believe that this had resulted in higher prices. "It had no effect," an official claimed.

EU: Elevator firms colluded on prices

The European Commission said Tuesday it would sue four elevator companies for damages that the EU headquarters suffered as a customer of a price-fixing cartel.
The EU's executive said it would seek compensation from Germany's ThyssenKrupp AG, Finland's Kone Corp., Switzerland's Schindler and United Technologies' unit Otis Elevator of the United States for what it said was collusion to raise the cost of elevators in EU buildings in Belgium and Luxembourg.
It put no price tag on the damages it suffered, saying the contracts were too complicated to calculate a figure at this stage.
It said the case it will take to a Belgian commercial court would help identify the total amount overpaid.
''As a result of the anticompetitive behavior of these companies, the EU institutions, and so the European taxpayer, have suffered financially by paying over the odds for the installation and maintenance of lifts and escalators,'' said Siim Kallas, the EU's top administration official.
EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes said EU regulators also wanted to encourage other victims of cartels to seek damages in the national courts. ''We are leading by example,'' she said.
Although cartels are punished by paying fines to EU or national regulators, few customers take cases to win compensation, something the European Commission wants to change, saying private legal action would act as an extra deterrent against potential price-fixing
EU spokeswoman Valerie Rampi said the commission was also thinking of bringing another damages case against Belgian removal companies that regulators fined in March for fixing the price of shipping furniture for diplomats and European Union officials moving to and from Brussels.
EU regulators said they were worried that the elevator cartel could continue to hurt building owners for many years because elevator companies usually carry out maintenance on the equipment they installed.
Cartels push up average prices by between 20 percent and 30 percent, they said.
Kone refused to comment while a Schindler spokesman said the company was waiting for the EU to specify the level of damages.
In February 2007, the EU's antitrust unit fined the companies 992 million euros ($1.3 billion) for running a cartel from 1995 to 2004 to rig bids for public contracts.

Monday, June 23, 2008

OTIS Raises Sales Target

OTIS Elevator, a subsidiary of U.S.-based multinational United Technologies, has revised upward this year’s sales target by 10 percent to 1.1 trillion won (about $1 billion) thanks to the weakening won against the greenback and impressive performances of its energy-efficient lifts abroad.``Recently, we have raised the 2008 sales target by 10 percent mainly driven by favorable won-dollar rates,’’ Bradley K. Buckwalter, chief executive of OTIS’ South Korean branch said at a press conference at the Lotte Hotel, Seoul, Monday. OTIS has a 40 percent share of the Korean market. ``Economic uncertainties such as rising material and oil prices pose a bigger threat to the company, however, we will face off such worries by pushing up intensified customer policies,’’ he said at the meeting on the occasion of his promotion to the top position.The ``Elevator Man’’ with 18 years of experience in the field has added that his company will put much emphasis on strengthening the safety of its elevators for larger buildings amid increasing elevator-related accident rates.Its Skyway double-deck elevator is highlighted with speeds up to 7 meters per second and Elevonic high-speed gearless elevators travel up to 8 meters per second.``We will provide high-quality products and specified after-installation-services to tackle the negative outlook for the global economy and the local construction sector, as well,’’ he said.OTIS has recently developed energy-efficient ReGen drives ― the result of a 20 billion won investment ― and set a goal to sell 10,000 systems this year. The drive draws energy from a fully loaded descending elevator or a lightly loaded ascending car and converts it to electricity.To develop its energy-saving elevators, OTIS is considering building a plant costing $16 million in China that will manufacture 12,500 elevators, annually.

Friday, June 20, 2008

Kone heirs dominate Finnish shareholders' ranking

Finnish business weekly Arvopaperi reported Thursday that four of the country's top ten portfolios of Helsinki-listed shares were held by members of the Herlin family, of lift and escalator maker Kone fame.

Two top ten positions are taken up by descendants of Eero Erkko, the founder of Helsingin Sanomat, the country's biggest broadsheet.
According to Arvopaperi's survey, 25 Finns have portfolios worth more than 100 million euros, up from eight five years ago.

Antti Herlin, the chairman of Kone, tops the list with a 1.42-billion-euro portfolio, the only one in the top ten to have risen in value last year.

Monday, June 16, 2008

KONE To Supply Elevators For Netherlands' Biggest Governmental Building

KONE has secured an order to supply all elevators for the new Ministry of Justice and Internal Affairs building in Den Haag, Netherlands. Located in the centre of the city, the building will be the government's biggest in the Netherlands."We are very pleased that Ballast Nedam and BAM have chosen KONE for this impressive project," says Noud Veeger, KONE EVP and Area Director for Central and North Europe. "It is one of the most significant high-rise deals for KONE in the Netherlands and the tenants of the building will benefit from KONE's Eco-efficient(TM) solutions."The building complex will comprise two 140-meter towers and will be equipped with 25 elevators. Four of them will be KONE JumpLiftTM elevators, which boost the buildings' vertical transportation capacity during construction time by growing with the building. Installation of the equipment will begin in 2008 and is estimated to be completed in 2012.The contractors for the project are Ballast Nedam and BAM and the architect is Hans Kollhoff Architecten. A 125-meter high residential tower called "De Kroon" (the Crown) will be built next to the building and will also be equipped with KONE elevators.

Schindler Announces Price Increase in U.S. and Canada

Schindler Elevator Corporation, a leading elevator and escalator manufacturer in the U.S., today announced an immediate price increase of approximately eight percent (8.0%) on all elevator products and six percent (6.0%) for escalators and moving walks. The increase is due to continuing escalation of fuel prices, and soaring price increases for commodity and specialty metals, which impact Schindler’s costs for manufacturing and product transportation.
Schindler U.S. manufacturing facilities for elevators and escalators are located in Gettysburg, PA. and Clinton, NC. Products from these plants are shipped to installations in the U.S. and Canada.

Thursday, June 12, 2008

UTC Role In WTC Project

Otis Elevator and Carrier are the big names in buildings at parent United Technologies Corp. But UTC's smallest business unit has landed the company's latest construction coup.
South Windsor-based UTC Power will provide supplemental power generation for one of New York City's most prominent and emotionally charged construction projects, the redevelopment of the World Trade Center site, company and New York officials said Wednesday.
UTC Power will provide 12 fuel cells for the four main towers planned within the 16-acre trade center site, including the 1,776-foot-tall Freedom Tower, now scheduled for completion in 2012.
The deal, for $10.6 million, would produce the single greatest concentration of power — 4.8 megawatts — generated by UTC fuel cells at one site and one of the biggest fuel cell installations in the world, the parties said.

The company's biggest existing installation — seven 200-kilowatt fuel cells capable of generating 1.4 megawatts — is also in New York state, at a Verizon facility on Long Island. One megawatt is enough power for 800 to 1,000 average homes.

The generating capacity of the fuel cells at the trade center site represents a small fraction of the total power needs of the planned towers. But the use of fuel cells in so prominent a project appears to offer a significant endorsement of the technology, which has struggled to find widespread market acceptance.

The New York Power Authority, which negotiated the trade center deal, is the first announced customer for UTC Power's newest fuel cell unit, which can produce 400 kilowatts of power, twice as much as its predecessor. The new model is not yet in production, but the company is scheduled to deliver the first units for the Freedom Tower next year.

"This is the day you dream about," UTC Power President Jan van Dokkum said in an interview after the announcement. The company expects to announce several other deals soon, he said.
Fuel cells combine hydrogen and oxygen to create electricity, heat and water. The process requires natural gas, but doesn't burn it, and gives off almost no carbon dioxide. The fuel cells will recycle their heat for use in the trade center towers' heating and cooling systems, further reducing demand on the power grid.

Promoted for their ability to generate electric power independent of fossil fuel-burning power plants and without creating hazardous byproducts, fuel cells have yet to spark widespread demand, in part because of their expense.
UTC Power declined to say how much it charges for a complete fuel cell unit. At $10.6 million for the delivery and commissioning of 12 fuel cells, the power authority would pay nearly $900,000 for each.

Since the early 1990s, UTC Power has sold about 270 fuel cells for use in buildings. Some are no longer in service. The company also makes them for use in vehicles, such as city buses.
UTC Power expects that rising energy costs will make fuel cells more attractive and that as production volume increases, prices will come down.
Michael Saltzman, a spokesman for the power authority, was unable to say Wednesday what percentage of the towers' total estimated power need would be met by the fuel cells. He said it was small.

The authority, which provides electricity for use by government agencies in New York City, has long been an advocate of fuel cells as one method of reducing reliance on the electric grid. It has bought them from UTC Power for use in several facilities, mostly small ones, such as wastewater treatment plants, hospitals and the Central Park police station, which relies entirely on a fuel cell for power.

A UTC Power fuel cell unit will soon be installed at the Bronx Zoo's lion house.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is the landlord for the trade center site and is building the Freedom Tower, the first of the towers to rise at the Lower Manhattan site. Developer Larry Silverstein is building three other towers on the site and others in the area.
Otis has contracts to provide at least 87 elevators and two escalators for trade center redevelopment projects, a spokeswoman said. Carrier officials could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

EU wants damages from elevator cartel firms

The European Commission is seeking compensation from four manufacturers of elevators and escalators which it previously fined 992 million euros ($1.5 billion) in the European Union's biggest ever cartel case. The move opens a new front in the Commission's campaign to punish companies it finds are breaking competition rules. A Commission spokesman said the EU executive wants damages from Thyssenkrupp (TKAG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research), Otis (UTX.N: Quote, Profile, Research), Schindler (SCHN.S: Quote, Profile, Research) and Kone (KNEBV.HE: Quote, Profile, Research) for the extra costs it incurred when installing their products in EU buildings.

The headquarters of the European Commission and the EU courts building in Luxembourg were all affected by the cartel. "We are going for damages," said Maximilian Strotmann, a spokesman for EU Administration, Audit and Fraud Commissioner Siim Kallas. "We have a duty ... to seek damages to protect the Commission and the taxpayer."

Kone received a letter from the Commission "in the role of a customer seeking compensation in Belgium from elevator companies relating to the old cartel case," a Kone spokeswoman said.
"We will deal with it as with all potential client demands. We will now investigate its content," Minna Mars said. A Commission source said the Commission is seeking a total of between 1 million and 10 million euros from the companies.

That is a tiny fraction of the fine the Commission imposed against the companies for fixing prices and carving up markets. But the move helps carry out a policy spelt out when the Commission announced the record fines in February, 2007. A Commission spokesman at the time invited companies that suffered from the cartel to pursue damages in national courts and seek to annul and renegotiate long-term service contracts. More broadly, the Commission has been working on new approaches to encourage people and companies injured by cartels to bring private lawsuits.

There are many barriers to such suits in Europe. In United States, law makes it relatively easy to bring suits which require damages to be paid three times over.
In the elevator case, Germany's ThyssenKrupp incurred the highest-ever fine for a single company, 480 million euros. The Commission fined Otis, owned by United Technologies of the United States, 225 million euros. Kone of Finland was fined 142 million euros and Schindler of Switzerland was fined 144 million euros. Mitsubishi Electric Corp of Japan was fined 1.8 million euros for participating in the Dutch portion of the cartel.

The companies had fixed prices, rigged bids and allocated projects to each other in Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands between 1995 and 2004, the decision said. (Additional reporting by Sami Torma in Helsinki; Editing by Louise Ireland)

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Schindler acquires stake in Qatar lift company

Schindler acquired 49% of the equity of Al Doha Elevators & Escalators WLL in Qatar. This company was set up by Sheikh Saoud Bin Khalid Al-Thani, a member of the ruling Family, as the exclusive distributor (sale, installation and maintenance) of all Schindler elevator and escalator products in the State of Qatar in 2005. The Company, renamed Al Doha Schindler Elevators & Escalators WLL, allows Schindler to participate directly in one of the world's fastest-growing construction markets.

Renold set for Indian bid

ENGINEERING company Renold is on the brink of purchasing a majority stake in an Indian manufacturer.The Manchester-based company hopes to acquire a 75 per cent stake in LG Balakrishnan and Bros (LGB) which is based in the southern state of Tamil Nadu.Renold manufacture gears and couplings for escalators, theme park rides, and the manufacturing, transport, energy, steel and mining industries.Yesterday, its shares jumped 3.5p - which is four per cent - to 87.5p. The acquisition is dependent on a number of factors including regulatory and LGB's shareholder approvals.LGB is already the market leader for the production and distribution of industrial chains in India and the deal will provide it with an established international distribution network.The acquisition will also enable Renold to promote its existing product range into India's rapidly growing market place as well as exploit new product, market and export opportunities.

Thursday, June 5, 2008

Finnish Otis workers to stage one-day walkout

About 160 workers of US lift and escalator maker Otis, part of United Technologies, are to stage a walkout between 7am and 4pm on Friday, representatives of three Finnish unions said Thursday.

Markku Haavisto, the chief shop steward at Otis for the Electrical Workers' Union, told the Finnish News Agency that Otis had shown its unwillingness to negotiate over pay and conditions.
The unions added that emergency calls would continue to be responded to and people freed from malfunctioning lifts in places like hospitals and nursing homes.

United Tech hiking prices at building units -exec

Diversified U.S. manufacturer United Technologies Corp (UTX.N: Quote, Profile, Research) is pushing through price increases at most of its construction-related businesses, a top executive said on Tuesday.
"We're pushing price across most of our businesses on the commercial side and it's actually getting traction," said Greg Hayes, vice president of accounting and finance. "You have to push price when costs go up."
The company's commercial units include Otis and Carrier, which are respectively the world's largest makers of elevators and air conditioners, as well as refrigeration, security and fire-safety systems used in commercial buildings.
The Hartford, Connecticut-based company said on Monday that Carrier would be raising prices by about 6 percent in North America by mid-July.
Hayes said the company was facing higher costs for copper, steel and aluminum as well as higher transportation costs as a result of surging energy prices. Overall materials inflation has outpaced its expectations so far this year, he said.
United Tech also makes jet engines and helicopters. (Reporting by Scott Malone; Editing by Braden Reddall)

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Anderson man counting on raising profile for new elevator

ANDERSON, Mo. — An Anderson man soon will take a prototype of a cableless elevator he has built to a national stage. Jim Neale, 46, said he spent the past five years honing his prototype and now awaits the Invention and New Product Exposition, set for June 11-14 in Pittsburgh, Pa. This national trade show highlights new products and innovations available to business and industry for manufacturing, licensing or distributing.

“It’s time to put it before the public,” Neale said of his work. Neale’s prototype is an elevator that ascends by climbing a ridged rail instead of relying on a cable to be hauled upward. It’s propelled by a gas-powered motor and hydraulics.

The prototype is small and consists of an enclosed platform with a single seat, although a couple more people could fit onto the platform by standing. The gas-powered motor is started by a pull cord. The driver makes the platform move up and down with a lever next to the seat.
Although the prototype is small, Neale said it is a starting point. The goal is to show that the technology is sound enough that it can be expanded, he said, so that such elevators could be placed inside large structures and would be suitable for rescue operations.
The technology also can be adapted: Diesel or electrical motors could be used. Larger motors could be used for larger platforms, allowing them to travel faster and carry more weight.
“Two pounds or 2,000, it’s all in the engineering,” Neale said. “This is just a working model where we can prove the theory.”

Neale said he is still researching whether the same technology is already in use at structures. He has two patent applications pending.
Potential venues for such an elevator include skyscrapers, transmission towers, oil platform superstructures and microwave towers.
Neale said he embarked on his project in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks. His hope, he said, was to construct an elevator system that could be used during emergencies by rescue workers or people needing to exit a building.

“I saw the individuals jumping out of the Twin Towers,” Neale said. “I knew there had to be a way to make sure that never happened again.”
In the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, he started his own company, Vertical Transportation System, to develop the idea.


Neale said he has no background in elevator design, and has spent most of his life as a “common worker and laborer” with stints in construction.

He said it is difficult to say how much time and money he has invested in the development of the prototype. The project has occupied much of his time. Neale said he has relied on support from his wife and a circle of friends.

The upcoming trade show will mark the first time Neale has taken his work public. He is hoping that someone from the elevator manufacturing or mechanical engineering industry who attends the trade show will see his prototype and show an interest in his design. If nothing else, he said, he needs to start exposing his work and gathering feedback. “We are at a point where we need to take the next step,” he said. “The way I understand the process, it takes years.”

Lucky seven?

The prototype that Jim Neale will take to the Invention and New Product Exposition this month in Pittsburgh, Pa., is the seventh he has developed.

Elevator systems sector develops fast: Turkey

With rising quality of life and fast-developing technology, the elevator systems sector has reached a value of 250 million euros. This mainly stems from the fact that elevator systems have now also entered detached houses and villas, after the apartment blocks.

In Turkey, where around 2,000 elevators are sold annually, the percentage of elevator use in residential premises has risen to 15 percent. An indispensable part of new construction projects, the elevator systems sector grew by 12 percent last year, and further growth is expected with the launch of new models that offer easy use. The sector hosts around 1,200 firms operating in production and maintenance, while only five big companies control 20 percent of the sector.

The elevator systems sector goes hand in hand with the construction sector. Thus, the global fluctuations in the real estate sector negatively affect the elevator sector as well, said Baykan Kurtuluş, member of the executive committee of Schindler Türkeli Asansör.
Some 140,000 elevators are in use in Turkey; however only 25 percent of them are controlled by specialists in the field, said Cüneyt Işın, CEO of Kone Türkiye. The technological developments in the sector arise as a result of the new tendencies to make living conditions more comfortable, noted Işın and added that the foremost problem of the sector is to deliver service at optimum conditions.