Dover Elevators was an American-based elevator manufacturer and was a division of Dover Corporation. The company manufactured passenger and freight elevators from 1955 to 1999, and was the 3rd largest elevator company. They still manufactures automotive lifts under the "Rotary Lifts" name.
History
Dover Corporation was originally known as Rotary Lift, a manufacturer of automobile lifts that opened in 1925. In 1937, Rotary Lift invented the modern hydraulic passenger elevator known as Oildraulic, which has become popular since and rivals such as Otis, Montgomery, Haughton, Westinghouse, etc. began making hydraulic elevators. Rotary changed its name to Dover Corporation and split the company into two separate divisions: Rotary Lift, which manufactures automobile lifts, and Dover Elevator Division, which manufactured passenger and freight elevators.
In 1958, Dover Corp. bought out Shepard-Warner Elevator. Since Shepard-Warner made geared and gearless traction elevators, Dover began making them in addition to hydraulic elevators as a result of the merger.
In 1971, Dover Corp. entered the British market by acquiring Hammond & Champness. Some of Dover's equipment installed in the United Kingdom from the mid-1970s onward were effectively branded as H+C or H+C Lifts. Dover also installed a small number of its elevators in Germany. All of Dover's elevator marketing operations in Europe, which consisted of Hammond & Champness in the UK and Dover Elevator's German subsidiary, were sold to Thyssen on June 30, 1997[2], one and half a year before Dover sold the rest of its elevator division to the same company.
On January 5, 1999, Dover Corp. sold their elevator division to the German-based Thyssen Elevator, and changing the name into Thyssen Dover Elevator. However, Dover elevators saw little change as a result of this buyout; the same fixtures and cab designs continued to be used, and Thyssen Dover elevators were very rarely labeled as such in the cab or any readily visible areas (they are normally labeled as Dover). As a result of this, Thyssen Dover elevators are usually only distinguishable by their date of manufacture. At the time when Thyssen Dover launched, Thyssen was already in merger with F. Krupp AG, which eventually became ThyssenKrupp. Brand transition ended in 2001 and this marked the end of the Dover name in the elevator industry. Even after that, very few ThyssenKrupp elevators made after 2000 were still bearing Dover logo on fixtures[3].
Post-Dover era
ThyssenKrupp continued on making Dover's Oildraulic (their version of hydraulic) until October of 2012 when they discontinued it. It was replaced with the new endura system, that is supposed to use new eco-friendly hydraulic oil and is said to be the same basic design as Oildraulic. ThyssenKrupp also continued on making Dover's SPF geared traction elevators as their own until 2013. Besides that, they continued to make traction elevators and has added machine room less elevators (notably the synergy) and destination dispatch to their product lineup. Eventually, ThyssenKrupp sold its elevator division in July 2020, which became known as TK Elevator in February 2021.
Notable products
- Oildraulic - The Oildraulic was known to be the first modern hydraulic elevator, invented by Automobile Rotary Lifts in 1937. It was produced under the Dover name and then the ThyssenKrupp name until October 2012 when it was replaced with the endura series.
- Dover SPF - SPF was a series of geared traction elevator. Like Oildraulic, it was later produced by ThyssenKrupp after the acquisition and was replaced by the momentum series in 2012-2013. SPF was controlled by the Traflomatic controllers.
- SGT - Dover's other traction elevator system.
- AC Gearless Traction Elevators - High speed gearless traction elevators with 2500-4000 lbs. capacities and 500-800 fpm. speeds.
- Independent Residential Elevators - Dover's residential elevators for private homes in either 1:2 roped hydraulic or winding drum traction drive system.
- Platform Lifts - Dover's wheelchair/platform lifts. It had five models; CRL, CLA, RL, CLP and CGL.
- Stair Lifts - Dover's stairlifts (SL-100 and Eagle Series).
- Escalators - Dover sold escalators during the 1980s and 1990s and were manufactured by Hyundai.
- Dover DMC-I - Dover's microprocessor control system for newer Oildraulic elevators.
- Traflomatic - Dover's other automatic control system. Traflomatic I, II, and 500 were relay logic; but Traflomatic III & IV were microprocessor control systems.
- Dover Computamatic - Dover's Computamatic elevator system was a group elevator system for high-rise buildings, similar to the Westinghouse Selectomatic and Otis Autotronic elevators.
Locations
Dover Elevators was based in Memphis, TN. It had four manufacturing plants located in Horn Lake and Walnut, MS (opened in 1980[4]); Middleton, TN (opened in 1969[4]); and Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. The Middleton plant was for productions of elevator doors, entrances and signal fixtures, the Horn Lake plant was the production base for Dover's elevator structural components, and the Walnut plant was the base of Dover's elevator controllers and drive systems productions[5].
Dover also had two overseas representative offices located in Thailand (for the Asia Pacific region) and Mexico (for the Latin/Caribbean region).
Distributors
United States
Dover was unique in that they had many independent, local distributors that bought Dover equipment and sold/installed it, usually bearing both their name and Dover's name. These reached their peak in popularity in the late 1960's, which is when Dover began to absorb these distributors and begin installing elevators on a much wider scale. Some companies, such as Burlington Elevator (New York/New Jersey), were dissolved in the mid 1970's. Others, such as Security (New Jersey), Eastern (New England), and Miami (Florida), lasted into the 1980's or 1990's. Some, such as Marshall Elevator (Pennsylvania) lasted well into the ThyssenKrupp years. Others, such as O'Keefe Elevator (Iowa/Nebraska), still exist today as ThyssenKrupp distributors.
List of Dover distributors in the U.S.:
| Company | State(s) served |
|---|---|
| Alaska/Pacific Elevator Inc. | Alaska |
| Arizona Elevator Inc | Arizona |
| Bay State Elevator Co. | Massachusetts, New York, Vermont and Bloomfield, Connecticut |
| Burlington Elevator | New York |
| Dominion Elevator | Virginia |
| Eastern Elevator Co. Inc. | New England and New Haven, Connecticut |
| General Elevator Co. | Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and District of Columbia |
| Grindel Elevator Co. | Pennsylvania |
| Gallaher & Speck Elevator Co. | Illinois |
| Hobson Elevator Co. | Washington Idaho |
| Hunter-Hayes Elevator | Texas |
| Independent Elevator Co. | Michigan |
| Lamb-Grays Harbor Co., Inc. | Washington |
| Lamps Elevator Company | Rockford, Illinois |
| Lagerquist Corp. | Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Wyoming, and Illinois |
| Marshall Elevator Co. | Pennsylvania |
| Miami Elevator | Florida |
| Nashville Machine Co., Inc. | Tennessee |
| Northwestern Elevator Co. | Michigan Wisconsin |
| O'Keefe Elevator Co. | Iowa Nebraska |
| Security Elevator Co. | New Jersey Pennsylvania |
| Seelar Elevator Inc. | Pennsylvania |
| Sound Elevator Co. | Oregon Idaho Washington |
| Swanson Elevator Co. | Illinois |
| Stanley Elevator Co. | New Hampshire and Pennsylvania |
| Tri-State Elevator Co. Inc. | Louisiana |
Overseas distributors
Dover Corp. had many distributors around the world. In Canada, Dover was headquartered in Toronto, ON. In the United Kingdom, Dover elevators were distributed by Hammond & Champness from the early 1970s until 1999. Their elevators were branded as Hammond & Champness Lifts, and later H+C Lifts. Dover also had branch in Germany, located in Langenhagen and operate under the name Dover Europe Aufzuge GmbH.
In Asia, Dover had several distributors and third-party installers located in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, South Korea, Taiwan and Japan. In Singapore, Dover elevators were distributed by East Elevator Pte. Ltd. In Malaysia, Dover elevators were distributed by Intermet Engineering Sdn. Bhd. from 1994 to 1996. In November 1996, Dover took 30% equity of Intermet and was subsequently changed to Dover Elevators (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd. Nowadays, East Elevator and Dover Malaysia install or modernize elevators using third-party components. In South Korea, Dover elevators were distributed by Hyundai Elevator. Dover also exported their elevators to Australia through their sole distributor, Australian Elevators Corporation (AEC).
List of Dover distributors outside the U.S.:
| Company | Country | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Abdul Aziz Eshaq | Bahrain | |
| Al-Futtaim Engineering L.L.C. | United Arab Emirates | [6] |
| Alfion S.A. | Argentina | |
| Ascensores Del Peru S.A. | Peru | |
| Ascensores Integral | Columbia | |
| Ascensores Opitz Y Cia Ltda | Chile | |
| Australian Elevators Corporation (AEC) | Australia | [7] |
| Bermuda Elevator Co. Ltd. | Bermuda | |
| Celco Cia, Ltda. | Ecuador | |
| Coremsa | Costa Rica | |
| Copas | Paraguay | |
| Dalsan C. Por A. | Dominican Republic | |
| De Elevadores S.A. | Guatemala | |
| Desarrollo Vertical, S.A. DE D.V. | Mexico | |
| Deya Elevator Services Inc. | Puerto Rico | |
| Distribuidora Yale, S.A. De C.V. | El Salvador Guatemala |
|
| Dover Elevator Far East Ltd. | Hong Kong, China | |
| Dover Elevator Systems, Inc. | China | |
| East Elevators Pte. Ltd. | Singapore | [8] |
| Electric Sales & Service Co., Ltd. | Barbados | |
| Electro-Systems | Philippines | |
| Elevadores Irene C.A. | Venezuela | |
| Elevadores Panama S.A. | Panama | |
| European Lift Engineering | Germany | |
| Hammond & Champness Ltd. (H+C) | United Kingdom | 1971-1999[9] |
| Hobson Elevator | Canada | |
| Hyundai Elevator Co. Ltd. | South Korea | |
| Intermet Engineering Sdn. Bhd. | Malaysia | 1994-1996[10] |
| Island Elevator Company | Guam | |
| Lamb Canada Ltd. | Canada | |
| Multi-Tec Engineering Services Ltd. | Jamaica | |
| National Elevator Company | Egypt | |
| National Fluid Power | New Zealand | |
| Promociones Irene S.A. | Venezuela | |
| PT. Karya Intertek Kencana | Indonesia | |
| Saasa Corporation (Pvt.) Ltd. | Pakistan | |
| Saudi ETA Ltd. | Saudi Arabia | |
| Sein Trading | Myanmar | |
| Sound Elevator Co. (Canada) | Canada | |
| Toyo-Hydro Elevator Co. Ltd. | Japan | |
| Turnbull Elevator Co. Ltd | Canada | |
| U.S. Systems Ltd. Partnership | Thailand | |
| Wason Elevator Corp. | Taiwan |
Fixtures
- Main article: Dover Elevator Fixtures Guide.
Before Dover started manufacturing their own fixtures in 1968, they used GAL fixtures and custom panels. Their standard-issue fixtures by the late 1960's were black buttons with a white halo that lit up and a distinctive indicator with square segments that lit up for each floor. The following listing is of Dover-manufactured fixtures.
- "1970's Black" (1968 - 1970's) - These fixtures had no known official name. These buttons were black with a white halo that lit up, similar to the GAL fixtures that they used immediately prior to these. These, however, have a distinctly smaller halo than the GAL fixtures. The floor indicator was similar to the GAL indicator that they used immediately prior, but the segments for the floors were spaced farther apart. This is dubbed the "chiclet indicator".
- "1970's White" (1968 - late 1970's) - These fixtures had no known official name. These buttons were similar to the 1970's black buttons, except that they were white with a black halo, and the actual button lit up. The indicator is the same "chiclet indicator" from above.
- Traditional (mid 1970's - 1999, used by Thyssen Dover and ThyssenKrupp through 2007) - These fixtures are similar in appearance to the 1970's white buttons (and the 1960's black buttons on special order), but the surface of the button is smoother and the button presses in less, giving somewhat of an illusion of a touch-sensitive fixture. Early on, the chiclet indicator was used, but Dover eventually moved to a digital/faux digital "alarm clock" indicator in the late 1970's, followed by a dot matrix/faux dot matrix indicator in the mid 1980s. 1990's Traditional put button labels on brailes off to the side of the button rather than printing the labels on the actual buttons. After 1999, the buttons were made by Thyssen, then by 2001, ThyssenKrupp. In 2007, ThyssenKrupp overhauled the Traditional line into its current form.
- Impulse (1983 - 1999, still offered by ThyssenKrupp for special orders) - This is Dover's most common and distinct fixture line, and their first to adopt a modular design. It was still being manufactured and installed on a normal basis by ThyssenKrupp through 2005. However, it is still available with custom orders as of current day.
Notable installations
- Main article: List of notable Dover elevator installations
Notable acquisitions
- 1958: Shepard-Warner Elevator Co. (Cincinnati, OH)
- 1961: Monarch Elevator Co. (Greensboro, NC)
- 1964: Hunter-Hayes (Dallas, TX)
- 1965: Kimball Elevator (Los Angeles, CA)
- 1966: Turnbull Elevator Ltd. (Toronto, ON, Canada)
- 1968: Burlington Elevator (New York, NY)
- 1971: Hammond & Champness (United Kingdom)
- 1983: Miami Elevator (Miami, FL)
Trivia
- Dover's Asia Pacific Regional representative office was based in the Rajanakarn Building in Bangkok, Thailand[11]which had Dover elevators, possibly SPF model[12]. However, they were replaced into Otis[13] in the 2010s.
- Apart from elevators, Dover also made escalators[14]. They were not as common as their elevators, therefore they are extremely rare.
Gallery
Logos
See also
- List of Dover elevator fixtures
- Automobile Rotary Lift Co. - the predecessor of Dover.
- ThyssenDover, ThyssenKrupp and TK Elevator - the successor of Dover.
- Hammond & Champness - Dover's subsidiarys
Notes and references
- ↑ Archival website of Dover Elevators
- ↑ Dover Elevators - Press Release ("Dover Sets Sales and Earnings Records" section)
- ↑ VERY LATE 2002 ThyssenDover Hydraulic Elevator at The Anderson Building, UofKY, Lexington, KY - YouTube
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Dover History (Archived)
- ↑ Who We Are (Archived)
- ↑ Al-Futtaim now distributes Hitachi elevators and escalators in the United Arab Emirates.
- ↑ Dover elevators installed in Australia are often branded as Dover AEC.
- ↑ East Elevators still exist. It currently maintain and sometimes modernize the remaining Dover elevators in Singapore, as well as assembling/installing elevators under their own brand name "Duford".
- ↑ Hammond & Champness was often known as H+C Dover, and H+C Dover from the mid-1970s onward was effectively a brand for Dover equipment installed in the UK.
- ↑ Intermet Engineering changed to Dover Elevators (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd. in 1996 which still exists today. Now it install elevators under their own brand "Dover" as well as installing Spain-made MP elevators in Malaysia.
- ↑ International Distributors - Thailand (Archived)
- ↑ Review ลิฟท์ค้าง อาคารรัจนาการ ไฟดับ (Stuck in an elevator at Rajanakarn Building, Bangkok, Thailand) - YouTube
- ↑ STRANGE Otis Traction Elevators @ Rajanakarn Building, Bangkok (High Zone) - YouTube
- ↑ Products - Dover Escalators (Archived)
External links
- Official website
- Dover Elevators website (Archived version, year 1997)
- History of Dover Corporation
- Hammond & Champness in Beno Lift Guide
- Wikipedia article of Dover Corp.
- Dover elevator information photos (provided by jimster586 on Flickr)
| Major elevator and escalator companies | |
|---|---|
| Full list of companies | List of elevator and escalator companies |
| Operating | Fujitec • Hitachi • Hyundai • Kone • Mitsubishi Electric (Shanghai Mitsubishi) • Otis (Otis Electric • Sigma) • Schindler • TK Elevator • Toshiba |
| Defunct | Dover Elevators • Express Lift • Orenstein & Koppel • Thyssen • thyssenkrupp • Westinghouse |
| Other companies | Third-party elevator maintenance companies |