thyssenkrupp Launches Airport Solutions Online Hub

Elevator World

SAVARIA TO ACQUIRE GARAVENTA Savaria Corp. has agreed to acquire the issued and outstanding shares of Garaventa Lift for a total purchase price of approximately CHF74 million (US$74.27 million), subject to customary closing adjustments prior to the expected closing of the deal in October. It gives Savaria a wider footprint in North America via a 120,000-sq.-ft. manufacturing facility (built in 2017) in Surrey, Canada, and eight additional sales offices. Further sales offices will be acquired in Switzerland, Germany, Italy, the Czech Republic and Poland, as will a 33,000-sq.-ft. manufacturing facility in Milan, Italy. In China, Savaria will gain a sales office and light assembly capabilities in Shanghai. Established in 1978, Garaventa manufactures a wide range of wheelchair lifts, including inclined and vertical platform lifts and portable wheelchair lifts; and a full suite of residential elevators and commercial limited-use, limited-application (LU/LA) elevators. BHARAT BIJLEE OPENS INDIAN PM MACHINE FACTORY Bharat Bijlee’s new plant for permanent-magnet (PM) elevator machines at its Airoli, India, campus commenced operations in May. The 950-m2 plant is a green building, for which certification from the Indian Green Building Council is expected soon. The plant has clean-area facilities, line-, type- and reliability-testing capability, and is designed to optimize material flow and handling. The current production capacity of 700 PM machines for elevators per month is scalable for further expansion by the modular design and layout. The company said the plant furthers its strategy for continued domestic and export growth in its GreenStar range of elevator machines and caters to new applications of PM machines going forward. THYSSENKRUPP LAUNCHES AIRPORT SOLUTIONS ONLINE HUB thyssenkrupp has launched its Airport Solutions online hub following a string of significant airport contracts, including 423 elevators in Dubai and 73 moving walks in Madrid. The website provides photographs of thyssenkrupp’s most significant airport projects and showcases its equipment and services for airports, ranging from passenger boarding bridges and elevators to maintenance and modernization packages. It also shares fun facts, such as that thyssenkrupp boarding bridges move approximately 1.8 billion passengers annually. The company recently won its largest-ever boarding-bridge contract to provide 143 units to Istanbul’s new mega airport. LONDON TUBE STATION PLAN HAS HEAVY SUPPORT A Transport for London (TfL) plan to increase capacity at the Holborn tube station — partially through the installation of eight new escalators and three new elevators — has received overwhelming public support, Railway Technology reports. TfL held a public comment period from September 18 to November 17, 2017, with 96% supporting the specific plan for the Holborn facility. All told, 98% of respondents agreed that the station needed an upgrade. About 56 million passengers use Holborn every year, making it one of London’s busiest underground stations. To accommodate the heavy use, TfL is planning a second entrance and exit, in addition to the new vertical-transportation equipment. 54-STORY APARTMENT TOWER WILL BE TALLEST IN ARGENTINA Alvear Tower, a 54-story, 235-m-tall apartment building on Boulevard Azucena Villaflor in Buenos Aires, is set to become the tallest building in Argentina and among the tallest in South America upon completion by the end of this year, Apertura reports. Designed by PfZ Arquitectos and built by Criba, the structure will have 180 units and amenities that include a rooftop bar and restaurant, a semi-Olympic outdoor pool, tennis courts, private cellars and a spa. More than 80% of the units have been sold, with some residents set to move in by the end of 2018 and a grand opening planned in March 2019. Image: thyssenkrupp: https://www.thyssenkrupp-elevator.com/airport-solutions/ Subscribe to the Podcast: iTunes?Google Play