thyssenkrupp AG (former writing ThyssenKrupp AG) is a German multinational conglomerate which produce steels and industrial engineering related products and technologies. thyssenkrupp Elevator AG, formerly owned by thyssenkrupp AG, produces elevators, escalators and moving walkways, and is currently the fourth largest elevator manufacturer in the world behind Kone, Schindler and Otis. ThyssenKrupp is the result of a combination of two German companies; Thyssen AG and F. Krupp AG which merged together in 1999. thyssenkrupp's Elevator Technology division was acquired by a private equity consortium led by Advent, Cinven and RAG foundation on July 31, 2020. thyssenkrupp AG gave a short-term transitional permission to use its name as company's name. In February 2021, the company was converted from a joint-stock company into a limited company under German law, named TK Elevator GmbH, and adopted TK Elevator as its company name (branded as TKE; "TK" in TK Elevator stands for ThyssenKrupp, its previous owner).
History[]
ThyssenKrupp was established after the merger between Thyssen AG and F. Krupp AG in 1999. Brand transition continued until 2001, when it was ended with renaming of Thyssen Dover, a successor of elevator division of Dover Corporation. In 2003, ThyssenKrupp bought the Korean-based Dong Yang and the company was known as ThyssenKrupp Dongyang in South Korea for a few years before it changed name to ThyssenKrupp Elevator Korea in 2008.
In November 19, 2015, ThyssenKrupp announced its new simplified logo dubbed as "#brandblue" and all letters in the brand name are no longer capitalized (it is now shown as "thyssenkrupp")[2][3], with the exception of ThyssenKrupp Access Solutions. It later also adopted new branding, when changed name to thyssenkrupp Home Solutions.
thyssenkrupp never achieved great popularity in elevator market in Finland, due to domination of its domestic market rival, Kone, which is also active globally (and also is one of the largest elevator manufacturers), and thyssenkrupp Hissit Oy, its Finnish subsidiary, was acquired by that company in March 2016.
A year later, ThyssenKrupp Access Solutions, a division which manufactures home and accessibility elevators was renamed to thyssenkrupp Home Solutions.
In September 2018, thyssenkrupp announced that it would separate itself into two independent, listed companies; thyssenkrupp Industrials AG and thyssenkrupp Materials AG. The elevator business will continue to operate under thyssenkrupp Industrials AG, along with the group's components technology and industrial solutions businesses[4][5]. These plans were cancelled in May 2019[6] and thyssenkrupp, instead, announced plans to spun off thyssenkrupp Elevator AG and made it a separate public-traded company.
On February 27, 2020, thyssenkrupp announced sold of its elevator business to a private equity consortium led by Advent, Cinven and RAG foundation[7], and still owns about 10% shares of thyssenkrupp Elevator AG. This makes IPO plans of thyssenkrupp Elevator abandoned, just like with thyssenkrupp's failed split off. Transaction was completed on July 31, 2020[8].
After the divestment, thyssenkrupp AG gave a short-term transitional permission to use its name as company's name. In February 2021, the usage of the name thyssenkrupp in elevator industry has ended - as announced on February 25, 2021, the company was converted from a joint-stock company into a limited company under German law, named TK Elevator GmbH, and adopted TK Elevator as its company name (branded as TKE)[9].
thyssenkrupp history in the United States[]
In the United States, Thyssen, which was already in merger with F. Krupp AG, made a bold entrance into the elevator market by buying out Dover's elevator division. The buyout was completed in 1999, and the name in the US was changed to Thyssen Dover. Thyssen Dover installed elevators and escalators under the Dover brand (and very rarely under the Thyssen Dover name) between 1999 and 2001. In 2001, ThyssenKrupp's brand transition ended and Thyssen Dover Elevator became ThyssenKrupp Elevator Americas. Even after that, very few ThyssenKrupp elevators made after 2001 were still bearing Dover logo on fixtures[10].
Thyssen was already active in elevator market in North America before acquisition of Dover's elevator division; in 1994, they acquired the elevator division of Cubic Corporation, which was known as U.S. Elevator Corp. Eventually, Thyssen failed to be more apparent in North American elevator market, but certain technologies acquired from U.S. Elevator Corp. were later reused in products with technologies acquired from Dover, such as Aurora and Signa4 fixtures, which are based on U.S. Elevator's Soft-Touch fixtures.
Notable products[]
Current[]
Elevators[]
- synergy: thyssenkrupp's first MRL elevator system since 2001. It was introduced in late 2007 in the United States as a successor to the ThyssenKrupp ISIS.
- synergy 100: For residential buildings, sold in Europe and certain Latin American countries (formerly known as synergy Element)
- synergy 200: For residential and commercial buildings up to 20 floors with moderate traffic, sold in Europe and certain Latin American countries (formerly known as synergy Essence)
- synergy 300: For commercial buildings, sold in Europe and certain Latin American countries (formerly known as synergy Excellence)
- Modular SYNERGY: For existing buildings without an elevator. Manufactured by thyssenkrupp Elevadores Brazil.
- synergy500 MR-G: Only sold in India.
- synergy1000: Only sold in India.
- evolution: thyssenkrupp's other and current lineup of machine room less sold globally.
- evolution 100: For residential buildings, sold in Europe. This type of elevator released in North America in 2019/2020 when Thyssenkrupp changed to TK Elevator. In North America it uses belt cable.
- evolution 200: For residential and commercial buildings up to 20 floors with moderate traffic, sold in Europe. This type of elevator released in North America in 2019/2020 when ThyssenKrupp changed to TK Elevator. In North America it uses belt cable.
- evolution 300: For commercial buildings, sold in Europe.
- evolution1: For mid rise buildings. Manufactured by ThyssenKrupp China and only sold in Asia Pacific.
- enta: Low rise to Mid rise machine room less elevators series. Sold in Asia Pacific.
- meta:
- meta100: Mid rise elevators for residential buildings. Sold in Asia Pacific.
- meta200: Mid rise elevators for residential and commercial buildings. Sold in Asia Pacific.
- endura: ThyssenKrupp's official successor to the Oildraulic system for the U.S. market. The system is based off of the Oildraulic system but uses biodegradable oil.
- endura MRL: Machine room less version of Endura which competes with the Otis HydroFit, introduced in 2014.
- momentum: High-rise elevator system for the U.S. market.
- MOD Solutions: Elevator modernization solutions for North America.
- H-Power (formerly HYPower): Hydraulic elevator modernization.
- G2 Power: Geared to gearless traction elevator modernization.
- G Power (formerly Numbers): Geared elevator modernization.
- GL Power: Gearless elevator modernization. Not to be confused with thyssenkrupp GL.
- AT Power: Modernization to destination dispatch.
- GL and GL1: Passenger elevator manufactured by ThyssenKrupp China, only available in Asia Pacific. Succeeded by meta100 and meta200 in 2019 but still available in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Vietnam.
- TE-Hospital: An elevator designed for hospitals and medical centers, manufactured by ThyssenKrupp China.
- High Performance (Gearless traction machine version): A high-rise elevator system manufactured by ThyssenKrupp China. It is now known as HP61 and only sold in Asia Pacific.
- zeta:
- zeta200: High rise elevator system manufactured by thyssenkrupp Elevator Korea and only sold in South Korea. Successor of the local model Elejet.
- zeta300: High rise elevator system. Successor of the thyssenkrupp China model HP61 and currently sold in Hong Kong and Taiwan.
- Eflex: An elevator system only sold in Spain.
- latitude: Machine room less elevator manufactured by ThyssenKrupp Spain, and only sold in Spain.
- simplycity: An MR elevator for residential buildings, only sold in Russia and CIS countries. Introduced in 2014.
- uniq: Passenger elevator with machine room. Only sold in selected European markets.
- sonic: High-rise elevator system for the European market.
- coupl: High-rise double deck elevator system for the European market.
- expansion: Freight elevators for European market.
- TWIN: An elevator comprising of two elevator cabins installed in a single shaft.
- AGILE: A destination dispatching elevator product, similar to Schindler Miconic 10. In the United States, it was known as ThyssenKrupp Destination Dispatch while in other countries it was known as Destination Selection Control or DSC.
- MULTI: The world's first rope-free elevator system where multiple elevator cabins are equipped with linear motors, which allows several cabins in the same shaft moving vertically and horizontally which permit buildings to adopt different heights, shapes, and purposes. It was introduced in 2014.
Escalators and moving walks[]
- Velino: Escalator for commercial applications, originally introduced by Thyssen.
- Tugela: Escalator for heavy-duty and high-rise applications.
- Victoria: Heavy-duty escalators for public transit facilities, originally introduced by Thyssen.
- Orinoco: Standard moving walkways
- iWalk: Pitless moving walkways
- ACCEL: A moving walkway which alleviates traffic congestion by improving access to metro stations and attracting up to 30% additional passengers.
- I.MOD: Escalator modernization solution.
- ES Power: Escalator modernization solution for North America which is part of MOD Solutions.
Others[]
- E.COR: An elevator regenerative controller, similar to Otis's ReGen.
Discontinued[]
Elevators[]
- Univers: Machine room less elevators for France, United Kingdom and most European countries. Manufactured by ThyssenKrupp Elevator Manufacturing France from the early 2000s until 2012.
- Spirit: Machine room less elevator introduced in 2004-2005 for low to mid-rise residential and commercial buildings with a moderate amount of traffic that using TCM-MC3 controller. Only sold in Europe.
- Oildraulic: The original hydraulic elevator system, pioneered by Rotary, continued by Dover, and discontinued in 2012 in favor of endura. It was only available in the United States and Canada.
- AMEE: Holeless hydraulic elevator launched in 2005-2006 for the U.S. market. AMEE stands for Advanced Material Elevator Solution. This elevator system features a three-stage hydraulic jack.
- High Performance (Geared traction machine version): A low-rise to mid-rise elevator system manufactured by ThyssenKrupp China. It is now known as HP51 and only sold in Asia Pacific.
- ISIS: Another MRL elevator introduced in 2004 for the U.S. market and early 2000s for the European market. It used kevlar belts as the traction ropes instead of steel ropes. In the U.S, it was discontinued in 2007 and replaced by the synergy in 2008. It is unknown when the European version was discontinued.
- synergy BLUE: A version of Synergy for the European market, produced from 2012 until 2019-2020. Succeeded by synergy 100/200/300.
- evolution BLUE: A version of Evolution for the European market. Discontinued and succeeded by evolution 100/200/300.
- evolution 2.0: A Spanish version of evolution BLUE that was only sold in Spain.
- EleXess: Passenger elevator model manufactured by thyssenkrupp Elevator Korea and only sold in South Korea. Discontinued and succeeded by the meta200 model.
- Elejet: High speed elevator for high rise buildings manufactured by ThyssenKrupp Elevator Korea (previously ThyssenKrupp Dongyang) and only sold in South Korea. Succeeded by zeta200.
Escalators and moving walkways[]
- Norilang: Escalator for commercial applications, a very rare model.
- Loire: Heavy duty moving walks for high traffic, originally a Thyssen product and was only available in certain countries
- ThyssenKrupp TurboTrack: High speed moving walkway.
ThyssenKrupp elevator products in the United States[]
In October of 2012, ThyssenKrupp discontinued the original hydraulic system, Oildraulic, which was pioneered by Rotary and continued by Dover in favor of a new system named endura. The new endura system uses biodegradable oil and is based off of the Oildraulic system.
ThyssenKrupp Elevator Americas still makes traditional traction elevators along with MRL elevators. In the MRL segment, ThyssenKrupp initially sold ISIS which used kevlar belts instead of conventional steel ropes. However, it was discontinued in 2007 and replaced by synergy after an elevator free fall incident in the Seattle Children's Hospital which involved an ISIS elevator, and subsequently most, if not all remaining ISIS elevators had their kevlar belts replaced with steel ropes. Now, they makes synergy (traction) and endura MRL, the latter is a machine room less hydraulic elevator similar to the Otis HydroFit. ThyssenKrupp also makes the U.S. version of the evolution machine room less traction elevator, which is available as evolution 100 and evolution 200. The former is a successor of the synergy Self-Supported elevator.
Elevator fixtures[]
- List of thyssenkrupp elevator fixtures - for thyssenkrupp elevator fixtures found in all regions except North America
- List of thyssenkrupp elevator fixtures (North America) - for thyssenkrupp elevator fixtures found in the United States and Canada
- List of Korean thyssenkrupp elevator fixtures - for thyssenkrupp elevator fixtures only found in South Korea and certain Asian countries
Notable acquisitions[]
Elevator companies[]
Year | Company | Country(s) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1999 | Dover Elevators | United States | Became Thyssen Dover until 2001. |
1999 | Elevadores Sûr | Brazil | Became Thyssen Sûr until 2002. |
2002 | SIAR S.r.l | Italy | |
2002 | Kone South America | Argentina Brazil Chile Venezuela |
[11] |
2003 | Dong Yang Elevator Co. Ltd. | South Korea | Became ThyssenKrupp Dongyang until 2008. |
2003 | Tepper Aufzuge | Germany | |
2003 | Ascensori Causi | Spain | |
2003 | Herouth | Israel | Was a distributor of Thyssen elevators in Israel. |
2003 | Cie Generale d Applications Ascenseurs (CG2A) | France | |
2003 | Britannic Lift Company | United Kingdom | |
2005 | Atlantic Elevator Sales & Services Inc. | United Kingdom | |
2005 | Elevator Technologies (NZ) Limited | New Zealand | [12] |
2005 | Kockums AB | Sweden | |
2005 | Cenia Ascensores S.A. | Spain | |
2005 | Kare Elevator & Engineering Co. Pvt. Ltd. | India | |
2005 | Ascensores Silves Hidrolex S.L. | Spain | |
2005 | Trapo Kung AG | Switzerland | |
2005 | Ceteco S.r.l | Italy | |
2005 | Marco Bonfedi Ascensori Scale Mobili S.r.l. | Italy | |
2007 | Končar | Former Yugoslavia | Became ThyssenKrupp Končar until 2013. |
Elevator distributors and other affiliated companies[]
Year | Company | Country(s) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2004 | Mbf Norinco Sdn. Bhd. | Malaysia | A distributor of Dong Yang and Hyundai elevators at that time. [13][14] |
2004 | Bongear Engineering | Hong Kong, China | Was a distributor of Thyssen elevators in Hong Kong from the 1980s to 2004. |
2005 | PT. Pura Kencana | Indonesia | Was a distributor of Dong Yang elevators in Indonesia from 1988 to 2004.[15] |
2005 | Sun Rhine Enterprises Ltd. | Taiwan |
Notable distributors, subsidiaries and joint ventures[]
Distributors[]
Current distributors[]
Company | Country(s) | Notes |
---|---|---|
Abel Building Solutions Ltd. | Trinidad and Tobago | |
ALEX EA | Bulgaria | |
Androgroup Elevator Ltd. | Caymand Islands | |
ARG1 Africa Ltd. | Benin Ghana Togo |
|
Bermuda Elevator Systems Ltd. | Bermuda | |
Central Lifts Co. Ltd. | Malta | |
Compagnie des Ascenseurs et Elevateurs S.A.M. (CASEL SAM) |
Monaco | |
East Africa Elevator Company Limited | Kenya Tanzania |
|
ELP Suriname N.V. | Suriname Guyana |
|
Ets. Jemmali et Cie | Tunisia | |
German Tech Elevators Ltd. | Macau, China | [16] |
Global Business Bridge Ltd. | Pakistan | |
Grupo Thelevador C.A. | Venezuela | [17] |
Hayes Elevator Ltd. | Turks and Caicos Islands | |
Hyatt Elevators & Escalators Corp. | Philippines | Since 2003. [18] |
J.C.Q. Ingenieria en Ascensores S.R.L. | Dominican Republic | |
Jamaica Elevators Limited | Jamaica | |
JMG Limited | Ivory Coast Nigeria |
|
LUNA Engineering Services and Trade Ltd. | Uganda | |
P.Y. Elevator Ltd. | Cyprus | This company was also a distributor of Cenia elevators. |
Regional Elevators Ltd. | St. Lucia | |
SARL SLK Ascenseurs | Algeria | |
SARL Xeletec | Algeria | |
TH Lift d.o.o. | Serbia | |
Trust For Elevators and General Trading s.a.r.l. | Iraq Lebanon |
|
Unit-L (now Kraft Aufzüge) |
Ukraine | Distributor for Ukrainian thyssenkrupp. |
Universal Construction Pvt. Ltd. Co. | Ethiopia | |
Verti KAZLIFT | Kazakhstan | |
Verti MMC | Azerbaijan Georgia Turkmenistan |
Former distributors[]
Company | Country(s) | Notes |
---|---|---|
PT. Marico Gria | Indonesia | Originally a distributor of Thyssen products from 1984 until 2001. Then, they continued to distribute ThyssenKrupp products until 2005 when ThyssenKrupp established its presence in Indonesia. |
Subsidiaries and divisions[]
- SDV Escalators Ltd. (Skipton, North Yorkshire, United Kingdom)
- Vertical Express (United States)
Joint ventures[]
- Marohn ThyssenKrupp (Shanghai, China, established in 2011)[19]
Notable installations[]
Main article: List of notable thyssenkrupp elevator installations
Incidents and accidents[]
ISIS Elevator incident[]
On October 9, 2007, one of the ThyssenKrupp ISIS elevators in the Seattle Children's Hospital had its suspension ropes break and the car slipped between the 6th and 4th floors after the emergency brake was engaged. The four passengers were not injured and were rescued by firefighters.
Police suspected that the kevlar ropes breaks due to overheating and the ropes were later replaced with a different material, presumably steel. All four ISIS elevators were shutdown after the incident.[20]
Health club elevator accident in the United Kingdom[]
On March 12, 2003, a banker was crushed to death by a ThyssenKrupp elevator which was not properly maintained in a health club in London, England. The health club owner and ThyssenKrupp was fined £466,000 after the accident.[21]
Price fixing cartel incident[]
In November 2006, ThyssenKrupp was fined 479 million Euros by the European Union after found out that ThyssenKrupp was doing price fixing over 9 years. Other manufacturers that were fined including OTIS, Schindler, KONE and Mitsubishi Electric Elevator Europe.[22]
Elevator downfall incidents[]
There have been very few cases related to elevator downfall incident caused by broken traction ropes or a broken core of the pulley, either occurred on a ThyssenKrupp or other elevator brands that were maintained by ThyssenKrupp in the past few years. Some notable incident happened like in Shin Nga House, Fu Shin Estate, Hong Kong, when an elevator downfall incident happened in a Kone Marryat Scott elevator which was maintained by ThyssenKrupp in 2008.[23][24]
Escalator incident in Hong Kong[]
On February 24, 2011, some of the escalator landing steps on one of the two ThyssenKrupp escalators at Hong Kong Design Institute (HKDI) that gives access from level 1 to 7 are falling down on the steps which returning to the seventh floor. The escalator safety device was activated when the steps are falling down. No one was injuried in this accident.[25]
Elevator accident in Chile[]
On June 8, 2014, a ThyssenKrupp elevator in Tower B of Bustamante Community Park in Providencia, Chile, suddenly malfunctioned, then rises 30 floors in 15 seconds with the doors still open before crashed into the shaft's roof. A man was seriously injured, and was reportedly that he suffered head and leg injuries.[26] [27] It was suspected that the brake was picked (opened up) and there was a loss of motor control which cause the elevator into free rolling into the opposite direction. In addition, the elevator didn't have rope grippers or a counterweight safety system, which means that the elevator "fell" upward since the the counterweight weighs more than the elevator cab.
Trivia[]
- When ThyssenKrupp bought out the South Korean-based Dong Yang in 2003, their elevators in South Korea and other parts of Asia (for Korean-imported units only) are branded as ThyssenKrupp Dongyang until 2008.
- ThyssenKrupp elevators in Canada are also known as ThyssenKrupp Northern Elevator.
- ThyssenKrupp’s UK buttons look like Dewhurst’s Switching Components Series 42 buttons.
Gallery[]
Logos and nameplates[]
Maintenance/service barriers[]
Others[]
Video[]
Retake ThyssenKrupp Signa4 Hydraulic Elevator @ St. Therese of Carmel Catholic Church, San Diego, CA
ThyssenKrupp hydraulic elevator (with Signa4 fixtures) in St. Therese of Carmel Catholic Church, San Diego, CA, United States
See also[]
Notes and references[]
- ↑ Press Release - Rebranding
- ↑ The Skyscraper Simulator Forum topic: ThyssenKrupp Unveils New Brand, Logo
- ↑ https://www.thyssenkrupp.com/brand/en/
- ↑ thyssenkrupp plans to split the group into two independent, listed companies
- ↑ #bestforboth - thyssenkrupp
- ↑ Thyssenkrupp Abandons Planned Split, Pursues Elevator-Unit IPO
- ↑ thyssenkrupp sells Elevator Technology business for €17.2 billion to consortium of bidders led by Advent, Cinven and RAG foundation - thyssenkrupp (Press release)
- ↑ thyssenkrupp successfully completes sale of elevator business
- ↑ New company name, new brand: thyssenkrupp Elevator now called TK Elevator with new global brand TKE
- ↑ VERY LATE 2002 ThyssenDover Hydraulic Elevator at The Anderson Building, UofKY, Lexington, KY
- ↑ ThyssenKrupp in Motion - Volume 2, Issue 2, August 2002 - ThyssenKrupp Elevator Australia (archived)
- ↑ ThyssenKrupp in Motion - Volume 4, Issue 2, August 2004 - ThyssenKrupp Elevator Australia (archived)
- ↑ ThyssenKrupp Elevator reinforces market position in Malaysia (archived)
- ↑ ThyssenKrupp Elevator (Asia/Pacific) eNews - December 2004 (archived) (Refer to Page 8)
- ↑ ThyssenKrupp Elevator (Asia/Pacific) eNews - December 2005 (archived) (Refer to Page 9)
- ↑ ThyssenKrupp Traction Elevators in Macau - YouTube
- ↑ QUIÉNES SOMOS (Spanish)
- ↑ Formerly a distributor of GoldStar (later LG and Dong Yang elevators.
- ↑ ThyssenKrupp Elevator raises its stakes in Chinese joint-venture - thyssenkrupp AG
- ↑ ISIS elevator incident
- ↑ Health club elevator accident
- ↑ Price fixing cartel incident
- ↑ Electrical and Mechanical Services Department: Technical Report on the Lift Incident on 25 October 2008 at Shin Nga House, Fu Shin Estate, Tai Po (Chinese version), 5 December 2008.
- ↑ Later on, all the elevators in residential buildings in this housing estate are been replaced by Otis.
- ↑ Electrical and Mechanical Services Department: Technical Investigation Report on Escalator Incident at the Hong Kong Design Institute, Tseung Kwan O (Chinese version), 9 June 2011.
- ↑ Man injured when out of control elevator rises 30 floors in 15 seconds, crashes into roof - FOX8 News
- ↑ [FULL VIDEO] Malfunction Elevator Goes Up Crashing Through The Roof In Chile
External links[]
- Official website
- Official website (United States)
- Official website (United Kingdom)
- Official website (Nordic countries)
- Official website (Asia Pacific)
- Official website (Southern Europe, Africa and Middle East)
- ThyssenKrupp Access official website
- ThyssenKrupp Elevator on Google Play
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 |