Stannah Lifts Holdings Ltd is a provider of

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, ...

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 and

moving walkway A moving walkway, also known as an autowalk, moving pavement, moving sidewalk, people-mover, travolator, or travelator, is a slow-moving conveyor mechanism that transports people across a horizontal or inclined plane over a short to medium distan ...

s and manufacturer of

stairlift A stair lift is a mechanical device for lifting people, typically those with disabilities, up and down stairs. For sufficiently wide stairs, a rail is mounted to the treads of the stairs. A chair or lifting platform is attached to the rail. A per ...

s and

platform lift A wheelchair lift, also known as a platform lift, or vertical platform lift, is a fully powered device designed to raise a wheelchair and its occupant in order to overcome a step or similar vertical barrier. Wheelchair lifts can be installed in ...

s. The headquarters are in

Andover, Hampshire Andover ( ) is a town in the English county of Hampshire. The town is on the River Anton, a major tributary of the Test, and is situated alongside the major A303 trunk road at the eastern end of Salisbury Plain, west of the town of Basingsto ...

, Great Britain. The company makes various commercial lifts, but it is best known for its stairlifts, with which its name has become synonymous. The company headquarters, lift distribution and service division and stairlift division are in the Portway Industrial Estate on the western outskirts of Andover. The company also operates a factory in

Newburn Newburn is a semi rural parish, former electoral ward and former urban district in western Newcastle upon Tyne, North East England. Situated on the North bank of the River Tyne, it is built rising up the valley from the river. It is situated ...

, near

Newcastle-upon-Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is als ...

History

Joseph Stannah founded the company in London in 1867. Initially, a manufacturer of cranes and hoists for transporting ships' cargo, the company began to make hand-powered passenger lifts at the turn of the 20th century. Its first headquarters were on

Southwark Bridge Road Southwark Bridge Road is a road in Southwark, London, England, between Newington Causeway near Elephant and Castle and Southwark Bridge across the River Thames, leading to the City of London, in a meandering route. The road was created by conn ...

, before moving to

Bankside Bankside is an area of London, England, within the London Borough of Southwark. Bankside is located on the southern bank of the River Thames, east of Charing Cross, running from a little west of Blackfriars Bridge to just a short distance befor ...

in the early 20th century. The company remained here until the site was destroyed during the

London Blitz The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term , the German word meaning 'lightning war'. The Germa ...

. Leslie Stannah, the chairman at the time, built new headquarters at Tiverton Street,

Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...

using compensation money awarded to the company. Stannah Lifts moved from London to Andover in 1974, produced its first stairlift in 1975, and began exporting in 1979. From there, it established itself as the leading manufacturer of stairlifts worldwide, as well as Britain's largest lift manufacturer. Subsidiaries were opened in the United States and The Netherlands in 1992, and Slovakia in 2003. The company also purchased distributors in Ireland in 2005, and Norway in 2010. The company has produced over 700,000 stairlifts in February 2011 during a visit by the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...

to the Andover headquarters.

Products

Stairlifts & Homelifts

The company's stairlift division manufactures new stairlifts as well as reconditioning old units. Models are produced for both straight, curved and external staircases, with all units using a rail fitted to the

stair tread A stair tread is the horizontal portion of a set of stairs on which a person walks. The tread can be composed of wood, metal, plastic, or other materials. In residential settings, treads can be covered in carpeting. Stair treads can come in non-slip ...

Commercial lifts

Stannah is a UK supplier of lift products supplying passenger and platform lifts, goods and service lifts, and escalators & moving walkways for all types of buildings, alongside providing maintenance and repair services.

Escalators - 3rd Party

Although Stannah manufacture and install their own escalators, but they also import and install escalators from different countries, such as Hong Kong. They install ANLEV escalators in TfL stations such as Tottenham Hale, Paddington, and supermarkets (ASDA, Tesco & Sainsburys).

Lifts - 3rd Party

Besides escalators, they also import and install lifts from different brands located in different countries. They install Shanghai Mitsubishi (subsidiary of Mitsubishi Electric) lifts in London Luton Airport.

Corporate

Since its foundation, the company has remained a family-run business. At present, six fifth-generation members of the family maintain a 100% shareholding in the company. Stannah Lifts was officially incorporated as a

Private Limited Company A private limited company is any type of business entity in "private" ownership used in many jurisdictions, in contrast to a publicly listed company, with some differences from country to country. Examples include the '' LLC'' in the United Sta ...

in March 1961. In December 2009, the company reported an annual turnover of £183,426,000 and a profit of £9,671,000.

References

{{reflist, 30em Companies established in 1867 Companies based in Hampshire Elevator manufacturers Escalator manufacturers British brands