Thyssen Aufzüge GmbH was the vertical transportation division of German steel manufacturer Thyssen AG which made elevators and escalators. The company merged with Krupp in 1999 and became ThyssenKrupp.
History
Thyssen was founded on September 29, 1891 by August Thyssen and his brother Joseph in Duisburg, Germany.
The company's role in the elevator industry began in 1973 when it acquired Rheinstahl AG[1][2][3], a Hamburg based manufacturing company which also manufactured elevators and escalators. Thyssen also adopted Rheinstahl's arc logo as its own. Manufacturing of Thyssen-branded elevators started in 1976 when Rheinstahl changed name to Thyssen Industrie AG and separated its elevator manufacturing business into Thyssen Aufzüge GmbH (a wholly-owned subsidiary of Thyssen AG).
In the 1980s, Thyssen took over MAN's elevator division and later became Thyssen-MAN in 1984. At the same year they began entering the Spanish markets by acquiring Boettischer Elevadores, which became Thyssen Boettischer in 1985. Thyssen joined with several elevator companies such as Otis, Schindler, Kone, Mitsubishi, Hitachi, Johns & Waygood (later Johns Perry Lifts and then Boral Elevators) and Toshiba.
In 1993, Thyssen entered the North American elevator market with acquisition of Cubic Corporation's elevator division, known as U.S. Elevator Corp.
Thyssen started assuming ownership of Dover's elevator division from the acquisition of its European operations, concentrating primarily on British (Hammond & Champness) and German markets, on June 30, 1997[4], only to become fully owned by Thyssen on January 5, 1999[5]. Effectively, Dover Elevators became known as Thyssen Dover Elevator.
In 1995, Thyssen announced that it would merge with Krupp, and both companies eventually merged in 1999, becoming ThyssenKrupp. Thyssen Aufzüge GmbH - Thyssen's elevator business - became ThyssenKrupp Elevator AG in 2001. As part of merger, the 3 rings, a logo of Krupp, was added to Thyssen's arc logo. The company's brand transition was completed in 2001. At the same year, Thyssen renamed their U.S. elevator and escalator division from Thyssen Dover to the new ThyssenKrupp name.
Elevator-related activities of Thyssen's successor, thyssenkrupp, ended in 2020, with the sell of thyssenkrupp Elevator AG to a private equity-led consortium. thyssenkrupp Elevator became TK Elevator in February 2021.
Notable acquisitions
| Year | Company | Country(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | Rheinstahl AG | West Germany | |
| 1974 | Soretex | France | |
| 1984 | MAN Aufzugbau | West Germany | Became Thyssen-MAN for a while. |
| 1984 | Boetticher Elevadores con Ascensores S.A.[6] | Spain | Became Thyssen Boetticher[7] |
| 1986 | Northern Elevator Holdings Ltd. | Canada | |
| 1987 | De Reus | Netherlands | Became Thyssen De Reus until 2003. |
| 1991 | Gimsom & Co. Leichester Ltd. | United Kingdom | |
| 1993 | U.S. Elevator Corp. | United States | |
| 1998 | Tri-County Elevator Co. | United States | |
| 1999 | Dover Elevators | United States | Became Thyssen Dover until 2001. |
| 1999 | Hammond & Champness Dover (H+C Dover) |
United Kingdom | |
| 1999 | Elevadores Sûr | Brazil | Became Thyssen Sûr until 2002. |
| Unknown | Furse Lifts Ltd. | United Kingdom | [8] |
| Unknown | Svenska Hiss AB | Sweden | Some elevators were branded as "Thyssen Svenska Hiss AB" for a while. |
| Unknown | Macosa Elevaćion S.A. | Spain |
Elevator fixtures
- Main article: List of Thyssen elevator fixtures
Notable installations
- Main article: List of notable Thyssen elevator installations
Notable overseas distributors
| Company | Country(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Bongear Engineering | Hong Kong, China | 1980s-2004 Acquired by ThyssenKrupp in 2004. |
| Boral Elevators | Australia New Zealand |
1980s?-1990s Escalators and moving walks branded as Thyssen Boral |
| General Electric Company (GEC) Hong Kong |
British Hong Kong | 1980s?-1990s Few escalators |
| Hanyang | South Korea | 1991-1998 Partnered with Hanyang Elevator, hence their elevators were branded as Hanyang-Thyssen.[9]. They are mainly found in high rise apartment buildings. |
| Isralift Industries Ltd. | Israel | 1990s |
| Marryat & Scott Ltd. | United Kingdom British Hong Kong |
1970s-1980s Escalators and moving walks |
| PT. Thysindo Griatama (now Marico Gria) |
Indonesia | 1984-2001[10] Later became a distributor of ThyssenKrupp products until 2005.[11] |
Incidents
On December 12, 2015, an elevator at Tower 1 of Apartemen Taman Rasuna, Jakarta has fallen to the B3 floor. There were 5 people from the 5th floor then it caused a screeching sound (the brakes). This was right after the TK mod and the elevator affected was the big service elevator.
Trivia
- The Thyssen logo actually originated from Rheinstahl AG. When Rheinstahl was sold to Thyssen in 1973, Thyssen decided to reintroduce Rheinstahl trademark by reusing the blue "arc". The yellow "RHEINSTAHL" name was replaced with a blue "THYSSEN" name[12].
- When Thyssen acquires Dover in 1999, it was known as Thyssen Dover in the United States, but their products were branded as Dover until 2001, when it was simply known as ThyssenKrupp.
- Even after the merger, the Thyssen name was still used in elevators installed in some countries in the early 2000s, and some of them would often carries the ThyssenKrupp logo. In Hong Kong, the name was used until around 2004[13], while in United Kingdom, the name ended in 2003 when it changed name into ThyssenKrupp Elevators (UK) Ltd.
- Elevators modernized by Thyssen can be found in the United States, though they are very rare to find. It is unconfirmed if elevators installed by Thyssen can be found in the United States. However, Thyssen escalators can be found in the United States, though they are very rare to find.
- When Thyssen absorbed Spanish elevator company Boetticher Elevadores con Ascensores S.A. in 1984, it became Thyssen Boetticher. This was probably Thyssen's first attempt of entering the Spanish elevator markets.
Gallery
Logos
Escalators
Others
See also
External links
Notes and references
- ↑ Rheinstahl acquired by Thyssen in 1976
- ↑ Thyssen (German)
- ↑ Vom 1865 bis heute - Hamburger Abendblatt (German)
- ↑ Dover Elevators - Press Release ("Dover Sets Sales and Earnings Records" section)
- ↑ Dover Elevators - Press Release ("Dover Completes Sale Of Elevator Business" section)
- ↑ Acuerdo entre Boetticher y Navarro y la empresa alemana Thyssen - El Pais (Translation)
- ↑ Fusión oficial de Boetticher Elevadores con Ascensores, SA - El Pais (Translation)
- ↑ Over 125 years of history - Furse - ABB
- ↑ 대전광역시 서구 탄방동 한양산호아파트 한양공영(티센 제휴) 엘리베이터 2차 탑사
- ↑ About us - Marico Gria (Archived)
- ↑ Marico Gria, still exist today as a distributor of MP and China-made Sepac elevators in Indonesia, although it also maintains a few of the remaining Thyssen elevators in Indonesia.
- ↑ The company logo - thyssenkrupp (Archived version)
- ↑ 土瓜灣浩明雅苑蒂森克虜伯升降機
| 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 |