Lift Report

The last Liftex was held in 2007 and since then the London skyline has seen another round of high-rise changes, some of which could be seen when landing at the airport or from the LEIA boat trip that Liftex guests enjoyed over the evening of the opening day. Many of these major developments are now slowing down or on hold due to the monetary crisis and a reevaluation of commercial and domestic property by investors and owners. This exercise is well underway but intriguingly some analysts are predicting substantial growth again. The UK Lift and escalator industry is obviously influenced by this situation where the money supply and construction activities are being reduced but anyone who has been involved with the elevator industry for a length of time realises that the lift business operates in and between three key areas; New installations, Modernization projects and Repair & Servicing. In the current climate the Modernization and Repair & Servicing sectors are unsurprisingly proving to be the strongest. Liftex 2010 reflected that fact and in conversation we found a good deal of confidence in the sector, balanced by a sense of realism, with many companies adjusting their expectations and forecasts for next year.

    

Great weather conditions may have added to the sunny atmosphere of this 2010 Liftex but whatever the weather the event has always provided a good opportunity for lift consultants, related codes and standards experts and a wide cross section of people connected with the UK elevator industry to meet and discuss elevator topics both old and new. In fact this has been the main objective over the years, where the quality of visitor is more important than mass numbers. Pleasingly, the number of visitors was up by 15 % on the 2007 event which relieved LEIA and the event organizer Bob Hudson (Room 13) who had been apprehensive following the volcanic ash cloud and worldwide economic troubles. Hudson was pleased that the pre-registration system worked well and that registered visitors had been kept updated prior to the exhibition opening by personal emails and press notifications. This strategy had been used to good effect and was seen to be an important element to the success of the event. It was clear to see that this 2010 exhibition provided a valuable event for international marketers to find out about the UK Lift Market and its opportunities. From the visitors point of view many lift consultants and facilities managers were observed taking a few hours out from their offices to talk elevator ‘shop’ in the Liftex Zones. These Zones included an Internet Cafe, Seminar presentation facility, Meeting lounge and was undoubtedly the Hub for the two day event providing neutral space for impromptu meetings. The Zones importantly provided visitors and exhibitors the means to check the office emails, enjoy a revitalizing snack or just sit down for a while without having to go outside the exhibition hall.

         

Readers might be interested in some of the key topics raised in conversation and the following list gives a cross section of the topics:

Energy consumption and regeneration, Service performance, Tele-communications and protocols, Destination control, Education and training, How to promote the Industry to a wider audience? The importance of inspections, Is one man working safe or not? Can we really have global products for a global market place or do manufacturers have to start looking again at local manufacture?

“Time will tell how important and relevant these topics are for the lift industry and our editorials over the next year will continue to illuminate many of key points”.

 

On and around the exhibition stands it was clear that the large independent component suppliers have continued to grow and their stands were much in evidence. This independent sector, in fact still accounts for between 30 – 40 % of the UK market which is a significant proportion and the equipment available can handle relatively sophisticated elevator projects. As would be expected there was a good selection of key UK companies such as A&A, Shorts, Lift Store, Lester Controls, Drucegrove, Memco and ILE. Many of these companies have been long term supporters and have always played an important part in the London Show. Liftex now being an “open exhibition” enabled international companies to exhibit in their own right, including Sodimas, Kollmorgen, Asray, along with many other famous names. Our photographic coverage of the show gives readers a good view of the hall, stands and products on display. Bob Hudson from the exhibition organizers reported that some 81 companies had exhibited and these came from China, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, The Netherlands, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey and the USA.

    

    

Important UK Lift companies such as the Jacksons Lift Group and Apex Lifts & Escalator Engineers have long supported the exhibition. They ensured that the contractor’s point of view was represented at the event with installation or repair and servicing specialists on hand to provide the visitors with an informed professional to talk and interact with.

    

    

What was the essence of Liftex 2010? – It was a talking shop, a place to enjoy hospitality and discuss and air professional views and requirements. – It was a showcase supporting the fact that the UK independent lift sector is competitive, alive and well. – It was pan European and open to all suppliers of lift equipment provided it met the appropriate standards.

    

    

Liftex 2010 was a place to discuss what products might be needed in the near future and we can report that many visitors and exhibitors have gone back to their offices and factories with a very positive agenda and we will see the fruits of that interaction in the coming years and hopefully to the fore of the next Liftex.

    

    

Straight after the exhibition “Room 13” surveyed all exhibitors and visitors to gauge levels of satisfaction and preferences to help with the planning of future events. At the time of going to press we were receiving very positive feedback from exhibitors, with comments such as:

“I definitely think that the exhibition was successful and will ultimately result in new business for my company.”

“10/10 for show organization, (the facilities were) very impressive and efficient. Top class!”

“A worthwhile show, good level of quality visitors. More LEIA members should attend, it certainly exceeded our expectations.”

“Only positive comments, especially from the point of view of the organization of the show, much better than other events where we exhibit.”

It is important that we continue to build upon the success of Liftex, and once the results of our surveys have been analysed future dates and plans will be announced.