tract 65 - Ascensores y Montacargas MARKETS Gearless: technology of the future The gearless sector cont inues to advance in the Spanish lift market, especially in new installations where it is unrivalled but also in retrof i ts and refurbishments, where it is also rapidly adapting performance to become the benchmark technology. Of course, having the best technology is never enough, one must also contend wi th customers’ economic constraints. Sales in the Spanish market are at modest levels, as bef i ts the rather slow pace of new installations at present. But if there is activity in this market segment, it is unfailingly in gearless technology; thus a known and specialized company could be experiencing sales increases for 2014 and 2015 to date of around 20 %. The battle now rests in the area of retrofits and refurbs, where space and dimension constraints pose speci f ic demands on the machinery. Suppliers are constantly developing new models and designs to meet these needs but in preparing to make the big jump new, economic hurdles have been raised. Control panels: smaller and more powerful The Spanish market in control panels is fluctuating just as the lift sector overall, with all the ups and downs typical of the current situation. The general trend is improvement, but all companies are cautious about validating any optimism over the medium term. Technology, in any case, is showing its greatest potential and teams are f inding themselves able to respond to the demands and needs facing them from users as wel l as instal lat ion and maintenance. For some specialized companies growth has been steady for 2014 and so far in 2015, maintaining a sustained trend for these some months. Indeed, Elecmegom has demonstrated a «marked increase in sales in the last quarter of 2014 and the first quarter of 2015, a trend that seems to be holding for this second quarter of the year». This evolution allows it to be «optimistic, not only with respect to our company but also the general situation of the sector». Other companies have also observed «slow but moderate improvement», with the typical irregularities of a market still mired in uncertainty. As one of them says, the market is currently characterised by constant fluctuation between «a certain stagnation and minor improvements». For these companies, if there is recovery, it is coming rather slowly. «The first quarter of 2014 was quite slow, but in the second things picked up. Now 2015 seems to be fol lowing the same trend: it has started very slowly and gradually things are picking up». REPORTS Lift test towers It is considered that the first lift test tower was that used by the very inventor of the modern lift, Elisha Graves Otis, to test the safety mechanism thanks to which the lift as we know it today was born. He is also considered to have constructed the first purpose-built test tower in New York in 1888 in order to develop the first electric lift. And as much as the technology has changed and requirements become more complex, lift test towers testing still fulfil the same role. A test tower is a place where complete lifts and lift components are assembled for the tests and inspections required prior to the launch of a model or component on the market. They allow for the testing of lifts or components in a controlled environment, but in real or close-to-actual operating conditions. Objective 2017: «universal access» By 4 December 2017, existing residential buildings should have proceeded to make the appropriate modifications or so-called «reasonable adjustments», according to the General Law on rights of persons with disabilities and social inclusion, to ensure that people with disabilities have the same access to common areas as their neighbours. This logically requires the installation of ramps, stair lifts and / or lifts to achieve, opening up an area of activity for the lift sector, which, however, lacks the elements of judgement needed to issue an opinion on the economic impact this implies and the commercial profits to follow. FORUM MK-775-00-NT, Microkey’s new GSM/GPRS telecom link, tailored by Netel. LIFT WORLD Industry news
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