Otis Elevator Company
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Otis Worldwide Corporation ( branded as the Otis Elevator Company, its former legal name) is an American company that develops, manufactures and markets elevators, escalators, moving walkways, and related equipment. Based in
Farmington, Connecticut Farmington is a town in Hartford County in the Farmington Valley area of central Connecticut in the United States. The population was 26,712 at the 2020 census. It sits 10 miles west of Hartford at the hub of major I-84 interchanges, 20 miles s ...
, U.S, Otis is the world's largest manufacturer of vertical transportation systems, principally focusing on
elevator An elevator or lift is a wire rope, cable-assisted, hydraulic cylinder-assisted, or roller-track assisted machine that vertically transports people or freight between floors, levels, or deck (building), decks of a building, watercraft, ...
s, moving walkways, and
escalator An escalator is a moving staircase which carries people between floors of a building or structure. It consists of a motor-driven chain of individually linked steps on a track which cycle on a pair of tracks which keep the step tread horizo ...
s. The company pioneered the development of the "safety elevator", invented by
Elisha Otis Elisha Graves Otis (August 3, 1811 – April 8, 1861) was an American industrialist, founder of the Otis Elevator Company, and inventor of a safety device that prevents elevators from falling if the hoisting cable fails. Early years Otis was b ...
in 1852, which used a special mechanism to lock the elevator car in place should the hoisting ropes fail. The Otis Elevator Company was acquired by
United Technologies United Technologies Corporation (UTC) was an American multinational conglomerate headquartered in Farmington, Connecticut. It researched, developed, and manufactured products in numerous areas, including aircraft engines, aerospace systems ...
in 1976, but it was spun off as an independent company 44 years later in April 2020 as Otis Worldwide Corporation. Its slogan is "Made to move you".


History


The booming elevator market

In 1852,
Elisha Otis Elisha Graves Otis (August 3, 1811 – April 8, 1861) was an American industrialist, founder of the Otis Elevator Company, and inventor of a safety device that prevents elevators from falling if the hoisting cable fails. Early years Otis was b ...
invented the safety elevator, which automatically comes to a halt if the hoisting rope breaks. After a demonstration at the 1853 New York World's Fair, the elevator industry established credibility. The Otis Elevator Company was founded in
Yonkers, New York Yonkers () is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States. Developed along the Hudson River, it is the third most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City and Buffalo. The population of Yonkers was 211,569 as enu ...
, in 1853 by Elisha Otis. When Elisha died in 1861, his sons Charles and Norton formed a partnership and continued the business. During the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
, their elevators were in high demand due to the shipment of war materials. Businesses throughout the United States purchased them. In 1864, with the partnership of J.M. Alvord, the company became known as Otis Brothers & Co. In 1867, Otis opened a factory in
Yonkers, New York Yonkers () is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States. Developed along the Hudson River, it is the third most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City and Buffalo. The population of Yonkers was 211,569 as enu ...
, the city where the company was founded. In 1925, the world's first fully automatic elevator, Collective Control, was introduced. In 1931, the company installed the world's first
double-deck elevator A double-deck elevator or double-deck lift is an elevator where one cab is stacked on top of another. This allows passengers on two consecutive floors to be able to use the elevator simultaneously, significantly increasing the passenger capaci ...
in New York City. Otis opened a factory in
Bloomington, Indiana Bloomington is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County, Indiana, Monroe County in the central region of the U.S. state of Indiana. It is the List of municipalities in Indiana, seventh-largest city in Indiana and the fourth-largest outside ...
, in 1965. Fayette S. Dunn became president of the company in 1964, succeeding the late Percy Douglas.


1980s changes

Otis was acquired by
United Technologies United Technologies Corporation (UTC) was an American multinational conglomerate headquartered in Farmington, Connecticut. It researched, developed, and manufactured products in numerous areas, including aircraft engines, aerospace systems ...
in 1976 and became a wholly owned subsidiary. In 1981, the Yonkers factory closed, and was later purchased by Kawasaki for use as a rail car assembly plant. Also in 1981, Otis signed a business agreement with an elevator company in China and Francois Jaulin became president. In 1989 Karl J. Krapek became president of the company and was replaced in 1991 by Jean-Pierre van Rooy. During the 1980s, Otis developed the Remote Elevator Monitoring (REM) system that collected behavioral data from 300,000 elevators. Otis has also dabbled in horizontal automated people-mover "shuttle" systems, such as the
Otis Hovair Otis Hovair Transit Systems is a type of hovertrain used in low-speed people mover applications. Traditional people mover systems used wheeled vehicles propelled by electric motors or cable traction, the Hovair replaces the wheels with a hove ...
. In 1996, Otis formed a joint venture called "Poma-Otis Transportation Systems" with the French company
Pomagalski Poma, incorporated as Pomagalski S.A., and sometimes referred to as the Poma Group, is a French company which manufactures cable-driven lift systems, including fixed and detachable chairlifts, gondola lifts, funiculars, aerial tramways, people ...
to promote these products. That partnership has since ended.


1990s acquisitions

Otis Elevator Company purchased Evans Lifts in the UK when Evans Lifts Ltd went bankrupt in 1997 during its merge with Express Lift Company with the name ExpressEvans. It was the oldest and largest manufacturer of lift equipment in the UK, and was based in
Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...
,
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. Otis's Customer Care Centre is still based in the old Evans Lifts building in Leicester. The building has since been extended by Otis. There are some installations of Evans Lifts in use today. Few lifts made by Otis are branded as Evans. Notably, an original Evans Lift is still in the Silver Arcade in Leicester. It formerly transported people to the upper floors. The upper floors are no longer occupied: the lift is no longer used. In 1997, Steve Page became president of Otis Elevator Co. In 1999, Otis acquired CemcoLift, Inc, located in
Hatfield, Pennsylvania Hatfield is a borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 3,290 at the time of the 2010 census. It is part of the North Penn Valley region that is centered around the borough of Lansdale. The borough is surround ...
. The operation was later closed in October 2012, with the remaining business being sold to Minnesota Elevator Inc.


South Korea divisions

In 1910, Otis installed the first hydraulic elevator for transporting money at the Bank of Chosun , and installed the first elevator for passengers on the Korean Peninsula at a railway hotel . Since then, almost all elevators in the Korean Peninsula have been installed before the liberation, and even after liberation, they were the first to land in the Korean market, occupying about 80% of the elevators imported from Korea. In 1982, it re-entered the Korean market through a technological alliance with Dongyang Elevator, and in 1991 took over the elevator manufacturer Korea Engineering and launched 'Korea OTIS Elevator'. The elevators supplied at this time were brought to Korea in the form of direct imports from overseas factories. At the time, apart from OTIS Korea, the actual predecessor of Otis Elevator was LG Industrial Systems Elevator. In 1968, Youngjin Electric and Goldstar established elevator manufacturing plants in Juan, Incheon and Changwon, Gyeongsangnam-do, respectively. After forming an alliance, Hitachi Elevator entered the Korean market in 1979 through a joint venture with Goldstar. At that time, the Juan plant had the name 'Shin Yeong Electric' and the Changwon plant had the name 'Geumseong Sa', but in 1987, Geumseong Sa changed its name to 'Geumseong Sanjeon' and Shin Yeong Electric's changed its name to 'Geumseong Sanjeon', which combined the Geumseong Electrician and Geumseong Sanjeon. It was called 'Goldstar Elevator'. In February 1995, Goldstar Industrial Systems changed its name to 'LG Industrial Systems', and in September of the same year, LG Industrial Systems merged Goldstar Industrial Systems and Geumseong Industrial Systems(Korea). Afterwards, Otis established 'Otis Korea' in a joint venture with Dongyang Heavy Industries in February 1998. Otis also took over the shares of LG Industrial Systems Elevator in December 1999 and changed the name of LG Industrial Systems Elevator to LG-OTIS. At the same time, the existing Korea OTIS was merged with it. In 2000, LG-OTIS founded Sigma Elevator and used Sigma brand to replace LG-OTIS,LG and Goldstar Brand at Overseas (International). The company name was also changed back to OTIS-LG. After the acquisition of shares was completed in 2005, LG Industrial Systems was separated into LS Industrial Systems and the 'LG' trade name was removed to become 'Otis Elevator Korea'.


21st century

In 2002, Ari Bousbib became president of Otis. Didier Michaud-Daniel became president of the company in 2008. In 2011, Otis acquired its competitor
Marshall Elevator Marshall Elevator was the oldest elevator company in the United States. It was founded in 1818 by John Marshall. Marshall & Son originally was a Blacksmith, but in the 1840s, they started to produce elevators of all kinds. In 1942, they began ...
for an undisclosed amount. Beginning in 2011, Otis cut its manufacturing operations in Nogales and supply-chain operations in
Tucson, Arizona , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...
, as part of a consolidation of manufacturing operations in
Florence, South Carolina Florence is a city in and the county seat of Florence County, South Carolina, United States. It lies at the intersection of Interstates 20 and 95 and is the eastern terminus of the former. It is the primary city within the Florence metropolit ...
, where Otis purchased a former
Maytag The Maytag Corporation is an American home and commercial appliance company owned by Whirlpool Corporation since April 2006. Company history The Maytag Washing Machine Company was founded in 1893 by businessman Frederick Maytag. In 1925, ...
facility on 92 acres. As part of the consolidation, Otis shut down its Bloomington facility in 2012. In February 2012, Pedro Sainz de Baranda was named president of the company, replacing Michaud-Daniel. In October 2013, Otis won its biggest ever contract to date, to supply 670 elevators and escalators to the
Hyderabad Metro The Hyderabad Metro is a rapid transit system, serving the city of Hyderabad, Telangana, India. It is the second longest operational metro network in India after the Delhi Metro (285 stations) with 57 stations and the lines are arranged in a ...
. Its second biggest contract had been in 2012, to supply 349 elevators for the
Hangzhou metro The Hangzhou Metro () is a rapid transit system that serves Hangzhou in Zhejiang province, China. The system opened on November 24, 2012. It is the 17th city in China to operate a rapid transit system. Network Metro Commuter rail Descrip ...
. In 2015, Otis had to slow its expansion in Asia after orders in the region started to drop. On October 9, 2017, Judy Marks was named president of Otis Elevator Company, replacing Philippe Delpech. In January 2018, Otis inaugurated the installation of the world's longest double-deck elevator (30 elevators) in the 555-meter
Lotte World Tower The Lotte World Tower () is a 123-story Megatall skyscraper located in Sincheon-dong, Songpa, Seoul, South Korea. It opened to the public on April 3, 2017, and is currently the tallest building in South Korea and the sixth tallest in the worl ...
in Seoul. The "sky shuttle" can take 54 passengers from the 2nd floor to the 121st floor in 1 minute. On November 26, 2018, United Technologies announced it would spin off Otis Elevator into an independent company. Its headquarters are to remain in Connecticut. In 2019, Otis geared up its artificial intelligence technology by capitalizing on predictive technologies.


Notable installations

Otis has installed elevators in some of the world's most famous structures, including: *
Eiffel Tower The Eiffel Tower ( ; french: links=yes, tour Eiffel ) is a wrought-iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower. Locally nicknamed "'' ...
*
Empire State Building The Empire State Building is a 102-story Art Deco skyscraper in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The building was designed by Shreve, Lamb & Harmon and built from 1930 to 1931. Its name is derived from "Empire State", the nickname of the st ...
(modernization partnership signed in 2011) * The original
World Trade Center World Trade Centers are sites recognized by the World Trade Centers Association. World Trade Center may refer to: Buildings * List of World Trade Centers * World Trade Center (2001–present), a building complex that includes five skyscrapers, a ...
*
The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror ''The Twilight Zone'' Tower of Terror, also known as Tower of Terror, is a series of similar accelerated drop tower dark rides located at Disney's Hollywood Studios, Tokyo DisneySea, Walt Disney Studios Park, and formerly located at Disney Ca ...
Attractions (including ride mechanisms) *
Petronas Twin Towers The Petronas Towers, also known as the Petronas Twin Towers or KLCC Twin Towers, (Malay: ''Menara Berkembar Petronas'') are 88-storey supertall skyscrapers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, standing at . From 1998 to 2003, they were officially design ...
*
Burj Khalifa The Burj Khalifa (; ar, برج خليفة, , Khalifa Tower), known as the Burj Dubai prior to its inauguration in 2010, is a skyscraper in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It is known for being the world’s tallest building. With a total height ...
*
CN Tower The CN Tower (french: Tour CN) is a concrete communications and observation tower in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Built on the former Railway Lands, it was completed in 1976. Its name "CN" referred to Canadian National, the railway c ...
*
Winchester Mystery House The Winchester Mystery House is a mansion in San Jose, California, that was once the personal residence of Sarah Winchester, the widow of firearms magnate William Wirt Winchester. The house became a tourist attraction nine months after Winc ...
*
Hotel del Coronado Hotel del Coronado, also known as The Del and Hotel Del, is a historic beachfront hotel in the city of Coronado, just across the San Diego Bay from San Diego, California. A rare surviving example of an American architectural genre—the wooden ...
* Demarest Building (first electric elevator) * The Singing Tower at
Bok Tower Gardens Bok Tower Gardens is a contemplative garden and bird sanctuary located atop Iron Mountain, north of Lake Wales, Florida, United States. Formerly known as the Bok Mountain Lake Sanctuary and Singing Tower, the gardens' attractions include the ...
*
Skylon Tower The Skylon Tower, in Niagara Falls, Ontario, is an observation tower that overlooks both the American Falls, New York, and the larger Horseshoe Falls, Ontario, from the Canadian side of the Niagara River. History Construction of the Skylon be ...
*
30 Hudson Yards 30 Hudson Yards (also the North Tower) is a Supertall building, supertall skyscraper in the West Side (Manhattan), West Side of Midtown Manhattan, Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Located near Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan, Hell's Kitchen, Chelse ...
*
Willis Tower The Willis Tower (originally the Sears Tower) is a 108-story, skyscraper in the Loop community area of Chicago in Illinois, United States. Designed by architect Bruce Graham and engineer Fazlur Rahman Khan of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), ...
(modernization)


Incidents & controversies

In 1992, an Otis trainee died on the job due to orders to violate workplace safety protocols. OEEU organised protests in response, forcing the company to permanently take on 98
temporary workers Temporary work or temporary employment (also called gigs) refers to an employment situation where the working arrangement is limited to a certain period of time based on the needs of the employing organization. Temporary employees are sometimes ...
and to stop their recruitment for permanent jobs. This had been a problem for several years at that point. In 1998, two Otis workers died on the job in separate incidents in Mumbai. This led to a public discussion about the lack of safety training for contract workers at the company and an investigation by Lokhshahi Hakk Sanghatana, who demanded that company management should be prosecuted for their negligence. In 2001, due to a dated design flaw, 8-year-old Tucker Smith was crushed to death by an Otis Elevator after becoming trapped in the gap between the outside door and the inside gate. In February 2007,
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
regulators fined Otis Elevator €225 million (US$295.8 million) for being part of a price-fixing
cartel A cartel is a group of independent market participants who collude with each other in order to improve their profits and dominate the market. Cartels are usually associations in the same sphere of business, and thus an alliance of rivals. Mos ...
in the Belgian, Dutch, Luxembourg, and German markets. Competitors
ThyssenKrupp ThyssenKrupp AG (, ; stylized as thyssenkrupp) is a German industrial engineering and steel production multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate. It is the result of the 1999 merger of Thyssen AG and Krupp and h ...
,
Schindler Group , logo = Logo-schindler.png , logo_size = 200px , image = SchindlerTestTowerHeadOfficeEbikon.jpg , image_size = 250px , image_caption = Schindler Test Tower at the Head Office in Ebikon, Switzerland , type = Public (''Aktiengesellschaft'') , ...
,
KONE Kone Oyj (; officially stylized as KONE and trading as KONE Corporation) is an elevator engineering company employing over 60,000 personnel across 60 countries worldwide. It was founded in 1910 and is now headquartered in Espoo near Helsinki, F ...
, and Mitsubishi Elevator Europe were also fined for participating in the same cartel. On July 24, 2009, a group of eight people was trapped for eight hours in an Otis elevator in
Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
. A repair man who tried to fix the elevator fell 10 floors to his death. On December 14, 2010, an Otis escalator installed in the International Trade station of
Shenzhen Metro The Shenzhen Metro () is the rapid transit system for the city of Shenzhen in Guangdong province, China. Extensions opened on 28 November 2022 put the network at of trackage, operating on 15 lines with 345 stations. Shenzhen Metro is the 6th ...
Line 1 reversed direction without notice, triggering a stampede that injured 25 passengers. On July 5, 2011, an Otis 513MPE escalator installed at
Beijing Subway The Beijing Subway is the rapid transit system of Beijing Municipality that consists of 25 lines including 20 rapid transit lines, two airport rail links, one maglev line and 2 light rail lines, and 463 stations. The rail network extends acro ...
Line 4 Zoo Station changed direction without notice, causing 30 people to fall. One boy was killed and 27 people injured, prompting China to halt the use of the escalator model. A Beijing official said the 513MPE escalator had "defects in design, manufacturing and maintenance", and that Otis had "unavoidable responsibility for the accident". Shenzhen Metro authorities confirmed that the cause of the accident was also similar to the Shenzhen accident on December 14. In March 2017, eighteen people suffered injuries at Hong Kong's Langham Place shopping mall when an escalator maintained by Otis reversed direction from up to down. On July 9, 2018, a one-year-old Otis escalator at
Stockholm City Station Stockholm City Station is a railway station in central Stockholm, Sweden. Opened on 10 July 2017, the station is located on the Stockholm City Line and is located directly below T-Centralen (the hub of the Stockholm Metro) and interchange with St ...
changed direction from up to a rapid descent, in what local officials called a "free fall", causing minor injuries. Inspection of the gear boxes of several Otis escalators revealed unexpected rust and heavy wear. This led to the newly built train stations Stockholm City Station and Stockholm Odenplan being temporarily closed on July 13, 2018, for security reasons until the problems were understood and resolved.


See also

* Otis Elevating Railway *
List of elevator manufacturers This is a list of companies that manufacture elevators. Current elevator manufacturers * Aichi small-elevator manufacturing corporation * Doppler * Fujitec * Hitachi * Hyundai Elevator * Kone * Mitsubishi Electric * Otis Elevator Compa ...


References


External links

* {{authority control United Technologies Manufacturing companies established in 1853 Otis Worldwide Manufacturing companies based in Connecticut Companies based in Hartford County, Connecticut Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange Farmington, Connecticut Elevator manufacturers
Otis Elevator Company Otis Worldwide Corporation (trade name, branded as the Otis Elevator Company, its former legal name) is an American company that develops, manufactures and markets elevators, escalators, moving walkways, and related equipment. Based in Farming ...
Escalator manufacturers 1853 establishments in New York (state) 1976 mergers and acquisitions Corporate spin-offs American brands