Brockville's three-month outage, Schindler at the GM Building, Otis in Tianjin
In Brockville, Ontario, a single elevator has been down for nearly three months, and the people living above it are still doing the stairs. That won't turn up in anybody's annual report, which is exactly why it leads. The rest of the fortnight belonged to the big contracts. Otis takes 251 units at the Tianjin 117 Tower, two of them running in hoistways over 597 metres, and Schindler takes 31 at the General Motors Building, where the original 1968 machines are finally coming out. South Korea has started building its own escalators again as well, twelve years after Hyundai quit, having learned what a cheap import costs you the first time you need a part for one.
Elevator outage leaves Brockville, Ont. apartment residents stranded for nearly three months
Residents of a Balmoral Place apartment building in Brockville, Ontario say they have been unable to leave their homes for nearly three months after the building's sole elevator was taken out of service following a safety inspection on May 7. The outage has disproportionately affected seniors and people with mobility challenges. Property manager SIREG Management Incorporated attributed the prolonged outage to delays with the initial repair contractor, saying it subsequently hired a new contractor to complete the work. Residents disputed the level of support offered by management and called for clearer communication and a firm repair timeline.
Schindler Awarded Contract to Modernize 31 Elevators at NYC's General Motors Building
Schindler has been awarded a contract to modernize 31 elevators at the General Motors Building (767 Fifth Avenue, Midtown Manhattan), a 50-story landmark owned by BXP that was completed in 1968 and occupies a full city block at the southeast corner of Central Park. The project entails a complete overhaul of the elevator systems — including original machines, core mechanical components, new controllers, and upgraded electronic infrastructure — along with installation of Schindler PORT, the company's destination dispatch system, to improve traffic management, reduce wait times, and enhance security. The official Schindler Holding AG press release was dated 12 August 2026.
K-Escalator revives Korean domestic escalator production, targets U.S. market
After Hyundai Elevator halted domestic escalator production in Korea in 2014 — leaving the market to cheaper Chinese imports — a new company called K-Escalator was established in Geochang County, South Gyeongsang in 2024 by Hyundai Elevator Service and several small and medium-sized companies. The revival is driven by domestic safety concerns, including difficulties sourcing replacement parts for Chinese-made units, and by growing trade barriers against Chinese competitors in the U.S. market. A 2013 accident at Yatap Station, in which an escalator reversed direction and injured 39 people, was linked to a counterfeit Chinese part, underscoring the safety rationale for domestic production.
Otis Selected to Supply 251 Elevators and Escalators to Tianjin 117 Tower, Including World's Longest Elevator Hoistways
Otis has been selected as the sole provider of vertical transportation for the Tianjin 117 Tower (also known as Goldin Finance 117 or China 117 Tower) in Tianjin, China, a nearly 600-meter supertall skyscraper. The contract covers 251 elevators and escalators, including two Otis SkyRise elevators with hoistways exceeding 597 meters — which Otis describes as the world's longest elevator hoistways in a building. The project also includes three super double-deck SkyRise elevators, which rise up to 463 meters at 10 meters per second, and two double-deck elevators running at 12 meters per second, the fastest in the Otis portfolio. Otis was first selected for the building's initial construction phase in 2013 and will now also modernize and refurbish existing equipment.
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