Demand goes up for high-rise Otis elevators

As demand for skyscrapers and imposing buildings mushrooms in the second and third-tier Chinese cities with urbanization going into overdrive, high-speed elevators are also in great demand in China, the world's largest manufacturer and seller of elevators.

Tony Black, president of Otis Elevator (China) Investment Co Ltd, said that the market for high-rise elevators keeps growing amid China's rapid urbanization and push for infrastructure construction. "You can see that buildings in China are becoming higher and higher to save land and accommodate more people," he said. "I think this is where we can come in, using our expertise and experience to help provide those big buildings with safe, energy-saving and fast elevators."

He said compared to traditional elevators, high-rise elevators require higher safety standards and technologies, using eco-friendly and efficient permanent magnet motors and dispatching systems for better passenger experience.

The supply of 255 elevators and escalators to Tianjin 117 Goldin Finance Center, the tallest main structure building in China, is a reflection of the company's ability to keep abreast of the challenging environment of many tall buildings.

With a construction height of 596.5 meters, Tianjin 117 Goldin Finance Center is also the second-tallest in the world after the 601-meter Burj Khalifa in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, another building that uses Otis elevators.

Tianjin 117 will use 50 Otis double-deck high-rise elevators. These advanced elevators use a shared hoistway to carry passengers in two cars simultaneously, increasing the capacity of inner-building transportation and saving up to 40 percent of building space.

"Equipping the building with top-quality, safe elevators is an important part of the whole project," said Tony Black, adding that it is one of the reasons that Goldin Properties Holdings Limited, the developer of the building, chose them.

The US-based elevator manufacturer also produces elevators for many other Chinese landmarks, including Shenzhen Ping'An Finance Center and Shanghai World Finance Center.