Lift Report

Higher, faster, further or, as a trend in the elevator construction business, smaller, thinner and lighter. Growing pressure on costs and a tougher competitive environment have led variously to technical solutions that are shaped solely by cost optimization parameters. Yet amid all these cost-capping discussions, we should never ignore safety and reliability requirements – especially with traction sheave elevators which are of such safety-related and public-interest concern.

“What’s new?” This simple question, known all around the world and a favorite among trade fair visitors, was frequently posed at the interlift 09, held in Augsburg from October 13 to 16, and every exhibitor was willing and able to provide an answer. The tenth interlift, the ninth in a row to take place in Augsburg, was able to report two facts that did not occur in any of its predecessors. Firstly, it snowed during the elevator industry’s premier trade fair. That had never happened in any of the earlier years. And secondly, the interlift 09 was the event with which the new Hall 5 was dedicated. It offers 8,000 square meters of floor area under a clearspan roof.

The Technical Academy of Heilbronn e. V. has hosted the European Lift Congress Heilbronn since 2005. It is held every two years alternating with the interlift and has become established as a discussion platform of European lift industry. Members of the various European organizations and expert panels come together to explain the latest European regulations, and representatives of renowned companies unveil their technical innovations. The congress comes along with a trade exhibition.

That is how company founders Gilbert Baumann and Carsten Seemann describe the start-up phase at base engineering gmbh, launched by purchasing the bankruptcy assets of the base electronic gmbh. The two admit, with a smile, that a generous dash of naivety was necessary from the very outset. In 2004 they were entering a saturated market without having an established network of response centers.