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From Pre-Sale to Installation: Customized Freight Options with Express Elevators & Lifts · The Elevator Careers Podcast

0:00
SPEAKER_00: There is a lot of flexibility available, a lot of options available.
0:03
SPEAKER_00: We are known in North America as a one-stop shop for all freight elevating devices, say from a 250-pound downbaiter to a 25,000 pound freight elevator.
0:13
SPEAKER_00: And what we bring to the table is uh, of course, our strength is the pre-sales constituency.
0:19
SPEAKER_00: Don't want to sound beating the own drum, but we have pretty much seen every scenario.
0:23
SPEAKER_00: You know, working with such a spectrum of uh clients, such beautiful industries that we serve, like from a daycare where you have the kids to a very heavy, hazardous industrial environment where it is explosion proof, like glass industry, paint industry.
0:38
SPEAKER_00: So we have seen those uh environments, any capacity for the elevator, any size, any type of product, then any kind of a finish, you know, from as simple as uh painted steel elevator to complete galvanized cars, we have all the options.
0:55
SPEAKER_00: And you can take advantage of our PCS constituency, our project management is articulate, whatever you want delivered at the right time, the after-sale service is there for you, and the product never fails.
1:09
SPEAKER_01: Hello and welcome to Elevator Tools and Tech, a special series from the Elevator Careers Podcast, where we spotlight the latest innovations, tools, suppliers, and technology driving the vertical transportation industry.
1:22
SPEAKER_01: In each episode, we sit down with the creators, engineers, and solution providers who are helping elevator companies work smarter, safer, and more efficiently.
1:31
SPEAKER_01: This episode is brought to you by Express Elevators and Lift, a one-stop shop for custom freight elevator solutions.
1:38
SPEAKER_01: I interviewed the president and CEO Puni Meta to discuss the importance of customizing freight elevators and the innovative solutions like zero pit and modular hostways that they offer.
1:48
SPEAKER_01: Learn how Express Elevator's expertise in pre-sales consultancy and project management ensures that each elevator is tailored to fit specific operational requirements, making them the go-to partner for businesses across North America.
2:00
SPEAKER_01: You can learn more about Express Elevators and Lifts products and services at www.expresselevatorslift.com.
2:09
SPEAKER_01: Now let's dive in.
2:11
SPEAKER_01: Huni, welcome to the show.
2:13
SPEAKER_01: Yes, thank you very much, and hello to you.
2:16
SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
2:16
SPEAKER_01: No, I appreciate it.
2:17
SPEAKER_01: I'm I'm excited to talk with you.
2:19
SPEAKER_01: And um I wanted to find out what what was it that I guess got you involved with with freight elevators?
2:26
SPEAKER_00: Well, my journey in the elevator industry started in 1997.
2:31
SPEAKER_00: That's when I joined Otis Elevator as a sales rep.
2:35
SPEAKER_00: And uh they were looking for someone with a technical background, and I had my degree in mechanical engineering, and uh I wasn't too interested in doing hardcore engineering, so I pursued my MBA degree in marketing, and that became a good fit for this job.
2:52
SPEAKER_00: And with Otis uh being such an old and established company, everything was structured, and they had uh divided the product line into two categories.
3:03
SPEAKER_00: One used to be off the shelf called model elevator, that's where you had all the passenger elevators, but anything which was like you know going in an existing shaft where you have a beam which is not giving you the size required by Otis or any kind of specialty elevator like a service elevator or say a freight elevator, those were all called traditional elevators or custom elevators.
3:28
SPEAKER_00: And they would uh require the sales rep to send the request to the design center and then obtain a formal quote, which would be technical specification and uh you know the price part.
3:41
SPEAKER_00: It's just a human tendency.
3:43
SPEAKER_00: Everybody wants to do stuff which is you know readily available off-the-shelf or standard.
3:47
SPEAKER_00: So many times and you know, the salespeople they were tempted that something which was there in the price guide, like the model elevators, they were faster to obtain course and faster to sell.
3:58
SPEAKER_00: And this whole thing about doing uh non-off-the-shelf products, that became like uh a longer lead time.
4:06
SPEAKER_00: But it so happened that I was getting more and more inquiries which were all of custom nature, which were freight and service elevator.
4:13
SPEAKER_00: So I started digging into it and then somehow I started liking it.
4:17
SPEAKER_00: You know, it was more of a measured selling where you would go understand all the details from the customer, you know, try to perceive that and then explain that to your head office of the design center, then obtain a quote.
4:29
SPEAKER_00: So uh that's how you know the journey started, and I had no experience in elevator going back like almost 30 years, and uh it was uh fun to learn all those things.
4:40
SPEAKER_00: And it so happened then, you know, like I started going deeper into freight elevators.
4:45
SPEAKER_01: Gotcha.
4:45
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you you kind of found that that custom niche to be to be your your space then.
4:50
SPEAKER_00: Indeed, absolutely, yeah, yeah.
4:52
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
4:52
SPEAKER_01: Well, and honestly, until you and I spoke, I didn't realize that every that freight elevators are are as custom as they are, right?
5:00
SPEAKER_01: I I'd heard the term, but I I just really didn't comprehend and haven't been a a a sales rep, so I wouldn't have known.
5:07
SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
5:08
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
5:09
SPEAKER_01: So let me let me ask you this.
5:11
SPEAKER_01: What do most people, even inside the elevator industry, misunderstand about freight elevators and why does that misunderstanding cost projects time and money?
5:22
SPEAKER_00: See, uh, I can answer this question in many ways, but I would say one thing that they miss is the opportunity.
5:28
SPEAKER_00: Because when you are buying a passenger elevator or even say a small handicap lift for that matter, sometimes you don't have much options.
5:36
SPEAKER_00: You are told that you're gonna get this size, this capacity, this speed, and by the way, you know, even the car operating panel or the haul button, everything is pre-finished.
5:45
SPEAKER_00: You have a certain size uh set of buttons.
5:49
SPEAKER_00: If you want a different faceplate, you can't have it.
5:51
SPEAKER_00: If you want, you know, a circular button against oval, you can't have it.
5:56
SPEAKER_00: And but freight elevator is unique that way.
5:59
SPEAKER_00: So it's pretty much like you go to uh Taylor and you want a tuxedo, you ask them what you want.
6:06
SPEAKER_00: You want a seam certain way, you want a stitch certain way, you can have your choice of buttons.
6:11
SPEAKER_00: So that is one opportunity that they miss.
6:14
SPEAKER_00: Because when somebody calls me, asks for a freight elevator, I basically ask them how heavy are you lifting?
6:21
SPEAKER_00: How big are you lifting, and whether you're going to hand mound the stuff into the elevator, or you're going to use a manual pump truck, or you have a large forklift truck because the load is that heavy that you will be using a forklift to enter it.
6:36
SPEAKER_00: And then that gives a complete configuration.
6:40
SPEAKER_00: And with that, you know, we have the choice of doors and with any kind of a finish too.
6:45
SPEAKER_00: So once uh all this data is given uh to the uh person who's preparing specification, you can get a unique product which custom fix your requirement.
6:57
SPEAKER_01: Right, right.
6:58
SPEAKER_01: Well, and and um, I mean it sounds like in some respects, you know, not only do they maybe not recognize the opportunity, but it's complex enough that may not know which questions to ask.
7:08
SPEAKER_01: And so somebody like you that that understands every single option, and not not just the options, but what would be in their best interest is is very valuable.
7:18
SPEAKER_01: Um and obviously talking about freight elevators being completely custom, and unlike the mass-produced passenger units, you know, we we call those cookie cutter, right?
7:27
SPEAKER_01: Um what would you say is the biggest operational risk that contractors face when they assume a freight is just a big passenger elevator?
7:36
SPEAKER_01: Does that happen?
7:37
SPEAKER_00: Uh it has happened.
7:39
SPEAKER_00: In fact, it has even happened with people that have dealt earlier, like you sell somebody a 3,000 pound elevator.
7:44
SPEAKER_00: Next time his requirement was 4,000, but they thought, you know, hey, uh last time it was 3,000, so they will kind of go as per that and they would keep the size as per bad.
7:56
SPEAKER_00: But then when that contractor goes to his end user, he says, No, I have a certain skill which is larger and heavier, so I want you know 4,000 pounds.
8:04
SPEAKER_00: So the biggest thing is, you know, ask the question.
8:07
SPEAKER_00: Like uh we have a very detailed and very neat to the point RFQ forms, request for quotation.
8:13
SPEAKER_00: It and those can be you know obtained from the website or they can be emailed to them.
8:18
SPEAKER_00: Just fill it as much as you can, send it back to us, and uh we'll make sure that you know we read them thoroughly.
8:25
SPEAKER_00: If they are demanding questions, uh you will receive a phone call or an email, and that's when we do the complete specifications.
8:32
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, thank you.
8:33
SPEAKER_01: So I'm just gonna I'm just gonna throw one question in here that that's just going through my mind, and that is do is there some kind of scale that that you use to know?
8:43
SPEAKER_01: Because I I'm just assuming, you know, if I'm loading loads, I I don't know how heavy they are necessarily.
8:50
SPEAKER_01: What what do they use to kind of make sure they're not overloading the elevator?
8:54
SPEAKER_00: Now, see, that's a good question.
8:55
SPEAKER_00: Most of the lowers that we have in North America, that's either on the pallets, you know, which are 40 by 48 or skills, right?
9:04
SPEAKER_00: 40 wide left to right and 48 uh depth front to back, and you maneuver them in the shop on the shop floor or inside the elevator using a pump truck, right?
9:15
SPEAKER_00: Or the forks of a forklift truck.
9:18
SPEAKER_00: So that's where you have uh a standard point.
9:20
SPEAKER_00: So when we we are designing these freight elevators, we are asking our customer how busy the operation is.
9:27
SPEAKER_00: Do you want to carry one skid at a time?
9:31
SPEAKER_00: Or you want to carry two skids?
9:33
SPEAKER_00: And if you are carrying two skids, are you keeping them like side by side?
9:37
SPEAKER_00: That means now you need a wider elevator.
9:39
SPEAKER_00: Or you can keep them one after the other.
9:42
SPEAKER_00: Now you need a deeper elevator, right?
9:44
SPEAKER_00: So those basic things we ask.
9:46
SPEAKER_00: And some industrial applications are so busy that they say no, I mean they want to carry four skids at a time.
9:52
SPEAKER_00: Give you a small example.
9:54
SPEAKER_00: I mean, if you are planning an elevator in the heart of New York City, downtown core or in Chicago, there when the truck comes to a grocery store or to say a pharmacy store, they cannot make that truck stand for too long.
10:08
SPEAKER_00: Because, you know, it's it's downtown.
10:10
SPEAKER_00: They probably have a next truck coming in.
10:12
SPEAKER_00: You can't blocking traffic and park two trucks at the same time.
10:15
SPEAKER_00: So they have to unload that uh you know box on the earliest possible basis.
10:21
SPEAKER_00: There definitely you would wish you had an elevator that was going down into the basement out of the top level where you could have thrown in multiple skids and taken it fast, right?
10:31
SPEAKER_00: Whereas now the same store, same company, you take it into suburbs of Chicago or New York, you know, or any city, there you know you have a lot more time to breathe, right?
10:41
SPEAKER_00: So there you can even go with a simple one.
10:43
SPEAKER_00: So those are like some of the very simple but you know practical aspects.
10:47
SPEAKER_01: Sure, sure.
10:48
SPEAKER_01: You got and you've got to be able to answer those questions and and obviously the the company has to figure out what it is they're gonna do so that they're so they're following their own rules, as it were, and you know, not overloading and all of that.
11:00
SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
11:01
SPEAKER_01: Um so let's let's talk a minute about uh you know lead times as a major differentiator.
11:07
SPEAKER_01: Uh you had mentioned that um a lot of US contractors are waiting 16 to 24 weeks for freight shipment.
11:14
SPEAKER_01: And um what are the real world world consequences of a delay on a job site, for example?
11:21
SPEAKER_00: Right.
11:22
SPEAKER_00: See, uh I'll say that I strongly believe that you know you can control more things at the office at the shop level.
11:29
SPEAKER_00: But sometimes on the site level you don't have much control.
11:32
SPEAKER_00: And that's why we say that you know the shop and the designing before the project management has to be articulate.
11:39
SPEAKER_00: And the lead times they do matter.
11:41
SPEAKER_00: The fact of the matter is that the elevators installation can only begin when the masonry or the trade or the concrete trade has done their part.
11:50
SPEAKER_00: That means you have a shaft which is ready right from bottom all the way to the top.
11:54
SPEAKER_00: There is um that is watertight, that means no water is pouring in.
11:58
SPEAKER_00: Then you have the pit which is dry, there's a drain there, you have electrical supply available, the basic three phase at the single phase to start running a motor.
12:08
SPEAKER_00: So, because of those uh requirements, sometimes the actual installation of the elevator is not the first thing in the building.
12:15
SPEAKER_00: So by the time we arrive, the site is fully mobilized, all the trades are working, you know, some trades are actually completing their work.
12:22
SPEAKER_00: So the site shoopers are already under stress.
12:25
SPEAKER_00: Now, you know, they are already 60%, 70% with the project, and now a new trade comes in, which is a specialty trade.
12:32
SPEAKER_00: And then if you see, we pretty much touch every trade.
12:35
SPEAKER_00: I mean, we are going to touch electrical, we are going to touch the sprinklers, we will require the mechanical trade with the drain pump, and uh and also you know, we are masonry guy to secure the doorframe, etc.
12:47
SPEAKER_00: And that's why at times they are waiting for us to complete their work so that they can complete the project.
12:54
SPEAKER_00: And that is why when you are asking 16 weeks for the material, and before that you're asking like four weeks or five weeks for the drawing, now you just ate up like almost five, six months because you also have to give them two, three weeks to approve those drawings.
13:09
SPEAKER_00: And now the project has already started.
13:11
SPEAKER_00: That's where you know uh they are getting nervous.
13:14
SPEAKER_00: If they are getting nervous, they are not very civil to you.
13:16
SPEAKER_00: Sure.
13:19
SPEAKER_00: That's why I feel if you can minimize the drawing submission timeline from your four weeks, if you can give that in one week or sometime even faster, right?
13:30
SPEAKER_00: Then you know a Zoom meeting like this, or you know, where you can send the drawings before, give them a couple of days to review, tell them to get all the questions ready, and then in a meeting or in-person meeting is even better, have that drawing approved.
13:45
SPEAKER_00: So your intent should be to commit the job to production on the earliest possible basis, you know, as we call ASAP, right?
13:52
SPEAKER_00: And then even in production, instead of taking like 20 weeks, 22 weeks, how about if you could able do like in 12 weeks or like in 10 weeks?
14:00
SPEAKER_00: Now suddenly you have you know expedited the material to the job site, and you can start at least with your mechanical installation, have the guide rails ready, rails plumb, you can have the hydraulic cylinder set up, the machine room set up, or your traction motors, you know, set up.
14:17
SPEAKER_00: That's how you can really expedite the project and uh you know kind of take away most of the unknown from the project.
14:24
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
14:24
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I mean it sounds like you know, some some multitasking, some planning ahead and making sure, like like you said, you can you can solve a lot of the problems in the office before it ever gets to the to the job site.
14:34
SPEAKER_01: And and I as I recall, yeah, in our last conversation, you had talked about uh that Express can deliver drawings in uh you know eight to fourteen weeks instead of 24.
14:45
SPEAKER_01: And and obviously you just talked about that, but what what enables you to move that fast and maybe others can't?
14:52
SPEAKER_00: We always say that each project is unique for us, right?
14:56
SPEAKER_00: So by that standard, each job should be custom.
14:59
SPEAKER_00: But as you know, you said in the beginning, you know, there are certain yardsticks.
15:02
SPEAKER_00: Like these freight elevators, I said either they are meant to carry single skid or two skids or four skids, or if they are carrying carts on wheel, they come in a certain size too.
15:12
SPEAKER_00: Or condominiums, if they are carrying garbage bins, they are typical sizes.
15:16
SPEAKER_00: If they are carrying automobiles for the automobile dealerships or other warehouses, condominium, we know they are usually 10 feet by 20 feet.
15:25
SPEAKER_00: So having said that, we have like a huge amount of data planning last uh 20 years, 25 years, where we have done so many jobs which were although unique, but they were similar in nature.
15:38
SPEAKER_00: So that really empowers us like most of the jobs, unless they are really some new requirements, we are we are able to give drawings anywhere, say in one to two weeks.
15:49
SPEAKER_00: Now, this is where we need to know from our customer, even if one to three weeks sometime is you know longer for them.
15:55
SPEAKER_00: I know, especially the retail world is most you know uh time sensitive.
16:00
SPEAKER_00: For example, that they are opening the store, let's say any pharmacy chain or any grocery chain, right?
16:05
SPEAKER_00: They always take buildings in existing subdivisions where they have established neighborhoods.
16:11
SPEAKER_00: So if I'm opening a grocery store or a pharmacy store, I have a set traffic of footfall coming in.
16:17
SPEAKER_00: So they have an established, you know, start date, which could be you know before Christmas or before any, you know, uh other big uh you know, Thanksgiving or stuff like that, right?
16:28
SPEAKER_00: So we really have to meet those dates.
16:30
SPEAKER_00: And what we do, that since we have so much data, we can give those drawings.
16:35
SPEAKER_00: We have done like in one or two weeks.
16:38
SPEAKER_00: I recall a project where we were doing an elevator for an operation theater.
16:42
SPEAKER_00: So they had to let go the two elevators because they were serving the operation theater on a certain date.
16:49
SPEAKER_00: And we literally worked backwards, we gave the drawing in a matter of a couple of days.
16:53
SPEAKER_00: The material was given literally in about 10, 11 weeks, and that gave us plenty of time for installation because that time we are not under any kind of a negative stress to you know these jobs.
17:05
SPEAKER_00: So that's where I put a lot of emphasis, first of all, is in the pre-sales consultancy.
17:11
SPEAKER_00: Before you are giving that quotation to the customer, you should be sure you have heard them fully.
17:17
SPEAKER_00: If need be, go to the site, you know, if required, ask for the drawings, ask as many as questions, write questions, and then prepare a proposal which meets the requirement.
17:28
SPEAKER_00: Give you an example if I'm you know working for food industry or pharmaceutical industry, sometimes they want to wash down these elevators every six hours or end of the day.
17:38
SPEAKER_00: So you need to give them everything which is NEMA 4X, watertight electricals.
17:43
SPEAKER_00: You need to give them a specialized chain of steel uh elevator car flooring the walls and ceiling, and even the buttons are also, you know, watertight.
17:53
SPEAKER_00: So once you have understood all this, then give them the right coat so that when it comes to drawing preparation, that's a reflection of the uh proposal.
18:03
SPEAKER_00: And once the drawings are approved, there should not be any ambiguity.
18:08
SPEAKER_00: You don't go into production all the time you have not received a comprehensive drawing approval.
18:13
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
18:13
SPEAKER_01: I mean it sounds like because you you specialize in freight elevators, you've you've seen so many applications that it's uh it sounds like it's it's easier to to uh know what you need to do.
18:24
SPEAKER_01: And and like you say, you've already got examples, you've you've done it.
18:27
SPEAKER_01: And so it's just a matter of understanding the requirements and and putting it together until you can be really really quick with that.
18:34
SPEAKER_01: Um you mentioned a minute ago, you know, visiting the site and the fact that uh you know, sometimes there are oddshaft conditions or unique load requirements.
18:44
SPEAKER_01: Um what are some of the common design mistakes that you see in the US market and how do you correct them?
18:50
SPEAKER_00: Uh see, again, the one word is observation.
18:54
SPEAKER_00: Like sometimes the customer would say that they want something, but then you need to understand do they really need that?
19:02
SPEAKER_00: You know, I mean, this is not only limited to elevators or say freight elevators, this is to any commodity.
19:08
SPEAKER_00: That's the job of a consultant, you know, that he has to help the uh customer or the client identify between their needs and wants.
19:16
SPEAKER_00: Right.
19:17
SPEAKER_00: For example, uh, one common scenario I see, again, very standard as a thumb rule, any uh palette, unless it is a highly specialized industrial product, usually all the pallets they are like no more than 2,000 pounds, 2200 pounds.
19:33
SPEAKER_00: Even if you have a comp truck, that's another like 200 pounds.
19:36
SPEAKER_00: So having said that, 2500 pounds should be adequate capacity for a freight elevator, right?
19:42
SPEAKER_00: Sure.
19:43
SPEAKER_00: Um you take factor of safety, you go 3,000.
19:46
SPEAKER_00: You know, you were a little more conservative, maybe 3,500.
19:49
SPEAKER_00: But I've had scenarios where somebody wanted a 2,500 pound uh elevator, a freight elevator, they went with 8,000 pound freight elevator.
19:58
SPEAKER_00: Ouch.
19:58
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
19:59
SPEAKER_00: And you know, the price goes up exponentially.
20:02
SPEAKER_00: Sure.
20:02
SPEAKER_00: Now your uh elevator cab itself is getting beefier, heavier, you need a much bigger motor, the cylinder is a lot heavier, and everything is more bulky like a brick house.
20:12
SPEAKER_00: And but when I asked why this happened, and the good part I was able to drill down to the complete hierarchy of that company.
20:20
SPEAKER_00: End user wanted 2500, the shop guy said give me 3,000, my job is secured.
20:26
SPEAKER_00: The boss who was sitting in an air-conditioned office, he said 4,000, went to management, somebody scared them, they said double the capacity.
20:35
SPEAKER_00: Oh wow.
20:36
SPEAKER_00: So if they had like a good consultant, you know, because in the world of elevator, when we say 3,000 pounds, we mean 3,000 pounds.
20:45
SPEAKER_02: Right.
20:45
SPEAKER_00: There are a factor of safety built in every system, whether it's mechanical, hydraulic, electrical, the redundant circuits in the controller too, which make sure that you're getting a safe and you know uh fail-proof product.
20:58
SPEAKER_00: So you don't need to overbuild to this extent.
21:00
SPEAKER_00: So that is one common mistake I see.
21:03
SPEAKER_00: Second, I see is the speed, because when you are buying a passenger elevator, speed is of a consequence.
21:10
SPEAKER_00: But when you are buying a freight elevator, speed is of not much consequence.
21:14
SPEAKER_00: Right.
21:14
SPEAKER_00: Reason being our topography in North America is that most of the storage places they are, you know, either down in the basement or mezzanine one, mezzanine two.
21:25
SPEAKER_00: So usually the elevators are two floors, three floors, so they are only going say 20-30 feet.
21:31
SPEAKER_00: Now, when you're going 20-30 feet, whether you go at 30 feet per minute or 50 feet per minute, even 75 doesn't make much difference.
21:40
SPEAKER_00: Because passenger elevators, their doors are lighter and they horizontally slide much more fast and swift.
21:46
SPEAKER_00: The freight elevators or the material lifts, the doors are either swing, which are largely manual, or they are vertical sliding, which again could be manual or power.
21:57
SPEAKER_00: Right.
21:58
SPEAKER_00: So when you do that, there is so much.
22:00
SPEAKER_00: Inertia with these doors.
22:01
SPEAKER_00: We're taking a lot of time opening and closing these doors.
22:04
SPEAKER_00: Besides, when you are handling a 200 or a 2000 pound pallet on a pump truck, the freight handler is going to exercise a lot of caution loading, unloading.
22:15
SPEAKER_00: Neither the boss who's standing next to him or her will push them to, you know, work faster.
22:21
SPEAKER_00: Right.
22:22
SPEAKER_00: Right?
22:22
SPEAKER_00: Because it's the question of safety, ergonomics, and uh so you're taking time loading, unloading.
22:28
SPEAKER_00: You're taking time opening, closing of the door.
22:31
SPEAKER_00: Actual flight time is inconsequential.
22:34
SPEAKER_00: It doesn't make a difference.
22:35
SPEAKER_00: But the code dramatically changes from 30 feet per minute to 50 feet per minute.
22:41
SPEAKER_00: Because if you look at our elevator code, the section 7 of ASME 17.1, which is also CSAB 40 core in Canada, uh, if you are at 30 feet per minute, you can design as a material lift.
22:54
SPEAKER_00: Now you go 50 or just above 30, it has to be a full freight elevator.
22:58
SPEAKER_00: Then you require lots more belts and vessels, you require integration to the fire alarm, you require a phone line for autodialer, you require a pit with a drain and some pump.
23:09
SPEAKER_00: Now you just you know exploded the scope of the project.
23:12
SPEAKER_00: So likewise, you know, I mean, sometimes customers may want a power door instead of a manual door, or they would want uh an automatic door, and we can recommend them a power door.
23:25
SPEAKER_00: Again, this is also very interesting.
23:27
SPEAKER_00: Automatic door is when you reach your landing, the door should open on its own.
23:33
SPEAKER_00: Right?
23:33
SPEAKER_00: Whereas a power door is when you reach a landing, the door can only unlock and then you can gently open it yourself.
23:40
SPEAKER_00: In the world of freight, you know, when uh the freight handler is say handling a garbage bin, which is give and take three and a half feet by seven feet.
23:49
SPEAKER_00: So those are like you know, physically capable people who are moving garbage bin.
23:53
SPEAKER_00: They can always open a door by themselves.
23:55
SPEAKER_02: Right.
23:56
SPEAKER_00: Right?
23:56
SPEAKER_00: But changing an automatic door to a power operator door, again, it's very easy on your pocket.
24:03
SPEAKER_00: Not only that, it's uh faster to install, easier to maintain.
24:07
SPEAKER_00: We give solutions which are supposed to last for you know 25, 30 years as a minimum.
24:13
SPEAKER_00: If maintained properly, you can go up to 35, 40 years, and that's what you know you have to see.
24:19
SPEAKER_00: Bring the scale-off economy, bring something which is uh long-lasting, and and also like weed out any problems.
24:26
SPEAKER_00: I mean, there could be more scenarios, but these are some of the common things, you know, that I'll say the choice of doors, the choice of speed, and the load capacity.
24:34
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
24:35
SPEAKER_01: Uh that makes sense.
24:36
SPEAKER_01: So let's talk a little bit about zero pit, no machine room, modular hoistways.
24:40
SPEAKER_01: These are major cost and disruption producers.
24:43
SPEAKER_01: Why do you think more companies don't offer these solutions and what are some of the barriers you've had to overcome to engineer them?
24:51
SPEAKER_00: Well, the engineering challenge was only once when we were designing it.
24:55
SPEAKER_00: Now I think we have mastered this art.
24:57
SPEAKER_00: And I would say that 50% of the freight projects that we are doing, instead of doing like a full freight elevator, we can do as a material lift, right?
25:06
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
25:06
SPEAKER_00: And this material lift is not as per the B20 code of US, which is the material handling code where you have a material lift and a person cannot ride on.
25:17
SPEAKER_00: This is actually the section 7 of ASME 17.1 where you can have a rider on.
25:23
SPEAKER_00: Again, what I repeated just a few minutes earlier.
25:26
SPEAKER_00: We are blessed in North America, like unlike Europe and Asia, we have huge landmass.
25:31
SPEAKER_00: As a result, you know, our houses are bigger, our cars are bigger, our workplaces are bigger.
25:36
SPEAKER_00: For the warehousing, we are not going multiple levels.
25:40
SPEAKER_00: We are making single-story building.
25:42
SPEAKER_00: We may have catwalks there, and we are either storing in the basement or you know, one or two levels above.
25:50
SPEAKER_00: Unlike Europe and Asia, where they have actual you know factories or workplaces, you know, which are six, seven stories.
25:57
SPEAKER_00: Over here, I mean, I'm yet to visit a factory which is six, seven stories, right?
26:01
SPEAKER_00: It could be a single building with catwalk.
26:03
SPEAKER_00: So with this, the codes are a lot more liberal lenient.
26:08
SPEAKER_00: You can actually give a material lift.
26:10
SPEAKER_00: And what a material lift does, it could be with or without a rider, as I said, depending upon the uh codes we pick.
26:17
SPEAKER_00: And you can have uh a lot of uh leniency and you can also have a turnkey approach.
26:24
SPEAKER_00: If I start from the very bottom, uh every elevator you require a pit, which typically is say, you know, 36 inches, 48 or 60 more probable.
26:34
SPEAKER_00: But with these material lifts, you don't require any pit.
26:38
SPEAKER_00: So essentially, when the platform of the lift is coming down, it won't be flush with the floor.
26:44
SPEAKER_00: So we make that platform with a unique design, which could either be half or three quarter inch uh steel plate, or for bigger capacities, say up to five, six thousand, we make the platform only with one inch and a half uh section, which is like an engineering expertise that we have.
27:03
SPEAKER_00: And when it comes to the bottom landing, it is gently floating in the air, it's only a quarter inch above the floor because you don't want it to bottom out.
27:12
SPEAKER_00: So essentially now the elevator platform is inch and three-quarter above the floor.
27:17
SPEAKER_00: So we can provide a gentle ramp, and we follow the building code, that means every gain of one inch you go 12 inch horizontal.
27:25
SPEAKER_00: Right.
27:25
SPEAKER_00: If I'm gaining inch and a quarter or two inches, my ramp is about uh 24 inches, and uh with that, you know it's the full width of the uh entrance.
27:38
SPEAKER_00: And the result is phenomenal because now you're not cutting the floor slab.
27:42
SPEAKER_00: Like, for example, if this is a food plant or other sensitive area to dust, if you are cutting the floor slab, yeah, the self is could be at least a few thousand of dollars, if not more.
27:54
SPEAKER_00: You have to basically cordon off the entire area, you know, dust nuisance, noise nuisance, and so on.
27:59
SPEAKER_00: So you prevented that you go right on the platform itself.
28:04
SPEAKER_00: Uh this is one part that we offer as a part of a turnkey.
28:08
SPEAKER_00: Second, uh instead of telling the customer to engage a general contractor and make the hoistway shaft out of masonry or concrete, you provide the hoistway enclosure out of steel uh panels.
28:23
SPEAKER_00: So you're gonna have hollow structural steel tube for each corner, then you have the in-between cross members again out of hollow tubes or channels or I-beam, and then you can clad the whole enclosure either with a solid uh steel or with a mesh enclosure.
28:41
SPEAKER_00: So having said that, you know, customer didn't have to cut the floor to make a pit, and we gave them the shaft, and even the hydraulic power unit, instead of them making a dedicated enclosed room, you basically like put that in a steel cage called the lockable enclosure.
28:58
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
28:58
SPEAKER_00: So if you see from the customer point of view, they are thrilled because they had, you know, a guy visit them or speak to them over the phone, understood their requirement, gave them the freight elevator, no pit, no shaft required, no machine room required.
29:13
SPEAKER_00: So all they cut is one check, one PO, and they pin the electrician, and all he's doing is giving us two disconnect boxes, one three-phase to run the elevator motor, and then one single phase for the controller cab lighting.
29:28
SPEAKER_00: So that's like a happy scenario for the customer.
29:31
SPEAKER_00: And we do this anywhere from 500 pounds up to 6,000 pounds.
29:36
SPEAKER_00: We have designs where we can even enhance that.
29:38
SPEAKER_00: But usually when you go higher than 6,000, now you need a B fewer platform.
29:43
SPEAKER_00: So you require a thigger, so it kind of defeats the purpose.
29:46
SPEAKER_00: And I would say this really helps in existing situations like where you are doing value addition or enhancement of existing facilities.
29:54
SPEAKER_00: This comes in really handy.
29:56
SPEAKER_01: No, it sounds very yeah, turnkey, right?
29:59
SPEAKER_01: Because it's like one phone call or or however many phone calls, right?
30:02
SPEAKER_01: But it just kind of shows up and it fits, and and like you say, there's not a whole lot of extra construction to accommodate it.
30:10
SPEAKER_01: So that's amazing.
30:11
SPEAKER_01: Um I wanted to talk to you a little bit about uh, you know, you've worked with dozens of AHJs across North America from New York to Hawaii and Puerto Rico.
30:20
SPEAKER_01: What's the biggest compliance or inspection challenge that most installers are unprepared for?
30:27
SPEAKER_00: See, I'll give you a very candid answer to that.
30:29
SPEAKER_00: I mean, of course, all my answers are candid, but uh this one uh well, our industry is very accommodating.
30:36
SPEAKER_00: And I like my industry because it also gives you time to react and prepare.
30:41
SPEAKER_00: My experience with AHJ, whether it is their office level or the inspector who visits the site, if you tell them this is your requirement, that's your intent, and it may or may not be falling in the code, they will help you achieve that.
30:57
SPEAKER_00: But if you just try to be maverick, if you say this is my way I'm doing it, without giving them any notice, don't do that.
31:04
SPEAKER_00: So our approach is very, very simple.
31:06
SPEAKER_00: We follow ASME 17.1 to the T.
31:10
SPEAKER_00: But then you know every state has the authority to adopt uh the way they like.
31:18
SPEAKER_00: For example, the elevator code is standard for North America, standard for US all across.
31:23
SPEAKER_00: But how each state will adopt, that's privy to them.
31:27
SPEAKER_00: And that's what we need to identify.
31:29
SPEAKER_00: Like, you know, if I am selling something in New York State, it may not be permissible in New York City.
31:35
SPEAKER_00: Or it may be different in Texas.
31:38
SPEAKER_00: Like, for example, when we do material lift, I'm going many years back and uh we did something in Georgia, it was good, and it came to Texas.
31:46
SPEAKER_00: The inspector said this is good, I like it, but I want to see an additional car gate.
31:51
SPEAKER_00: Like when we went to Michigan, they said what you're doing is good, but have this thing pre-approved.
31:58
SPEAKER_00: Right?
31:59
SPEAKER_00: So we said, fine, you know, it is right now, it's the time to spend that time.
32:04
SPEAKER_00: So they took about uh any, I think it was five to six weeks.
32:08
SPEAKER_00: We went to the T with every design, everything was pre-approved, and then we were able to install.
32:14
SPEAKER_00: So the that's approach is win-win because the customer is also not in the dark, and they know that uh, you know, this is part of the code, and uh, you know, this is permissible, so they don't they're also not anxious in any way.
32:28
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
32:29
SPEAKER_01: Well, and it sounds like just you know taking that responsible step to communicate ahead, make sure making sure that uh they're not surprised, they're not uh worried that you're trying to bring something in that that's just not gonna work.
32:40
SPEAKER_01: And um if you communicate up front, then you avoid a lot of problems.
32:45
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, one example in certain jurisdictions, the material lifts uh aspiras me is 17.1, they can go up to five meters.
32:52
SPEAKER_00: In others, it can go up to 7.6.
32:55
SPEAKER_00: Now, what do you do if you have a job which is like 5.5 meter or 6 meters?
33:00
SPEAKER_00: Many times if we just say that, hey, you have adopted this as per 5 meter only, right, which is 200 inches, but by the way, this this particular state is already authorized and they're allowing up to 7.6 meters, which is say give and take 300 inches 25 feet.
33:18
SPEAKER_00: And uh my building is already existing, and they had an existing elevator, and that elevator is no longer reliable.
33:24
SPEAKER_00: So we are actually taking it out, we are reducing the hazard, and uh, we are reducing the liability.
33:31
SPEAKER_00: So would you allow?
33:32
SPEAKER_00: And the answer is usually yes, right?
33:35
SPEAKER_00: If you are doing a new construction and then you are asking for a variance, then any authority or interesting they are more curious.
33:43
SPEAKER_00: Like, why are you not you know able to uh do it uh as for the code?
33:48
SPEAKER_00: And then also if you have a rational reasoning it that gets uh attended to and listened to as well.
33:54
SPEAKER_01: So, Puni, you've completed work for universities, aerospace companies, manufacturers, retailers, and and a lot of others across all these environments.
34:03
SPEAKER_01: What patterns do you see in how heavy-duty facilities actually use freight elevators versus how they think they will use them when they're in the planning phase?
34:13
SPEAKER_00: Well, I think uh I'll say that you know, all these industries they are highly knowledgeable.
34:19
SPEAKER_00: And the good part is, I mean, we feel that elevators are state of the art and they are rocket science, but once you break them down, they're a lot simpler.
34:28
SPEAKER_02: Sure.
34:29
SPEAKER_00: And all these buyers, they are very smart people.
34:32
SPEAKER_00: And besides elevator, you know, the FSTD has got so much other machine and equipment which is way more sophisticated and which is way more expensive.
34:41
SPEAKER_00: It's just that, you know, we as elevator people, you know, sometimes we are empowered by, you know, the red tapism or being so structured, we appear to be like, you know, uh, I would say on the top.
34:54
SPEAKER_00: But uh so that's how I'll answer this in a very candid way.
34:57
SPEAKER_00: You know, uh they have uh a set idea what they are buying, and I've also seen that uh the good amount of people like they do take some contingency for the future.
35:10
SPEAKER_00: Like, for example, if when we provide material lifts of red elevators going into Mezzanese, they know they're going to have an expansion phase two, phase three.
35:18
SPEAKER_00: So they may need another elevator, same capacity, say about 100 feet away, or they may say, No, today I only want to lift 3,000 pounds, but I know for sure my palettes are going to be different, they're going to be larger.
35:34
SPEAKER_00: So give me something, you know, which is 6,000 pounds.
35:36
SPEAKER_00: Like just yesterday I was speaking to a client and he wants uh 4,000, but he knows he's going to expand in next two to three years.
35:46
SPEAKER_00: He has his business plan done and he's going with a 7,000 pound elevator.
35:50
SPEAKER_00: Wow.
35:50
SPEAKER_02: Okay.
35:51
SPEAKER_00: Because you know, these elevators are there for 30 years, and the good part is we have spent that much time, me personally, in this trade.
35:58
SPEAKER_00: So something that we did like 20 years back, we are still maintaining, you know, we are seeing how it's behaving.
36:04
SPEAKER_00: But largely I'll say that uh right questions are asked, and our buyers are knowledgeable and they are buying the right product.
36:11
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah.
36:12
SPEAKER_00: But what happens sometimes, like you know, the building may change hand.
36:16
SPEAKER_00: That's when I have seen that you know you give them a passenger elevator, they don't want that.
36:20
SPEAKER_00: Now they want to freight because the earlier owners they were, you know, just an office, but now they are doing light manufacturing, assembly.
36:28
SPEAKER_00: So that requirement changes, and then you know, you have to change the classification of the elevator or altogether a different elevator.
36:35
SPEAKER_01: Gotcha.
36:36
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
36:37
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
36:37
SPEAKER_01: Now things definitely change, right?
36:38
SPEAKER_01: And and building ahead is is good if it's gonna make sense.
36:43
SPEAKER_01: And so obviously, there's a lot of a lot of decisions to be made.
36:46
SPEAKER_01: So um last question I want to ask you is you know, as you as a company expand into the US more, what's the number one message you want general contractors, elevator contractors, and end users to hear about selecting a freight elevator partner?
37:01
SPEAKER_00: I'll say, like, just uh talk to us because there is a lot of flexibility is available, a lot of options available.
37:07
SPEAKER_00: We are known in North America as a one-stop shop for all freight elevating devices, say from a 250-pound downbater to a 25,000 pound freight elevator.
37:16
SPEAKER_00: Wow.
37:17
SPEAKER_00: Downbaiter is installed in a pathological lab, in a hospital, in a laboratory, more in restaurants, like where you have the dining floor on one level and the kitchen on the other level.
37:27
unknown: Okay.
37:28
SPEAKER_00: Whereas uh freight elevator, you know, up to five, six thousand pounds, they are part of grocery store or they are part of uh say manufacturing facility, anything heavier like eight, ten, twenty-five thousand, those are all like heavy industrial elevators where you are using a forklift truck to drive in and drive out.
37:45
SPEAKER_00: Right.
37:45
SPEAKER_00: And what we bring to the table is uh, of course, our strength is the pre-sales consistency.
37:51
SPEAKER_00: Don't want to sound beating the own drum, but we have pretty much seen every scenario.
37:56
SPEAKER_00: You know, working with such a spectrum of uh clients, such beautiful industries that we serve, like from a very clean uh manufacturing facility for food uh uh hospital, then to a very, you know, non-clean, like a butcher house, right?
38:11
SPEAKER_00: You know, or so uh, you know, working say for a daycare where you have the kids to a very heavy, hazardous industrial environment where it is explosion proof, like glass industry, paint industry.
38:23
SPEAKER_00: So we have seen those uh environments, any capacity for the elevator, any size, any type of product, then any kind of a finish from as simple as uh painted steel elevator to uh 316 or 34304 stainless steel or complete galvanized cars, we have all the options.
38:44
SPEAKER_00: And you can take advantage of our PS constituency, our project management is articulate, whatever you want delivered on the right time, the after-sale service is there for you, and the product never fails.
38:57
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
38:58
SPEAKER_01: So if somebody's at that point and they're ready to start conversations, how would they get a hold of you?
39:04
SPEAKER_00: Best is to visit the website, and that's uh expresselevatorslips.com, and then you can either fill up the RFQ form and send it to us, or there's a phone number there, there's an email, there's a US number, there's a Canadian number, and they just by any means phone us or email us or visit our website.
39:24
SPEAKER_01: Awesome.
39:25
SPEAKER_01: Pranit, thank you so much for your time.
39:26
SPEAKER_01: It's been a pleasure as always, and I appreciate you being here today.
39:30
SPEAKER_01: You're very welcome.
39:30
SPEAKER_01: Take care.
39:31
SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
39:32
SPEAKER_01: Thanks again for listening to Elevator Tools and Tech from the Elevator Careers Podcast.
39:36
SPEAKER_01: Please remember to check out the wide range of products and services from Express, Elevators and Lifts.
39:42
SPEAKER_01: You can visit www.expresselevatorslift.com to learn more.
39:46
SPEAKER_01: The link will be in the description below.
39:48
SPEAKER_01: Please like and subscribe.
39:50
SPEAKER_01: And until next time, stay safe.