As Otis marks the 20th anniversary of its flagship Gen2® elevator, it also celebrates a noteworthy milestone: surpassing 1 million units sold, making this revolutionary elevator its all-time bestselling system. Otis Worldwide Corporation (NYSE: OTIS) is the world’s leading company for elevator and escalator manufacturing, installation and service.
“The Gen2 elevator has made a lasting impact on the global building industry and epitomizes the kind of game-changing innovation that defines Otis,” said Robin Fiala, Vice President, Sales & Marketing, Otis. “Today, the Gen2 is an amazingly versatile family of products designed to meet customer needs in diverse market segments. We continue to evolve the Gen2 to meet the changing needs of our customers and passengers in the digital age.”
Following its launch in 2000, the first units were installed in an apartment complex in Linz, Austria. Customers quickly embraced the Gen2’s energy efficiency, ride quality and space-saving design. Sales reached 500,000 by 2016 and surpassed 1 million earlier this year.
Configurations are now available for a wide variety of applications, whether it’s a residential or commercial building, mixed-use tower, retail setting, hotel, hospital, metro system or airport. Initially designed for low- and mid-rise buildings, the Gen2 elevator is also now available in many areas of the world for high-rise buildings up to 150 meters. There is even a model that can operate on battery power, which is useful for areas that sustain frequent power outages.
Gen2 elevators can be found in some of the world’s most iconic structures, including the Christ the Redeemer monument in Brazil, the Empire State Building in the United States, the Lotte World Tower in South Korea, and the Shanghai World Financial Center in China.
Compact design
Steel-reinforced polyurethane belts are the groundbreaking innovation that set the Gen2 elevator apart from other systems. By taking a conventional steel cable, unwinding the individual strands, laying them side by side and encasing them in polyurethane to create belts, Otis was able to dramatically reduce the size of the machine, eliminate the need for a machine room creating more usable space in the building, and provide a quieter, smoother ride for passengers.
Environmental sustainability
The Gen2 elevator showcases the company’s commitment to sustainable technology. Its permanent-magnet synchronous motor reduced energy consumption by 50% when compared to the induction machine system it replaced. Otis increased energy efficiency even more by adding regenerative drive technology, which had previously been available only on high-rise systems. The ReGen® drive, combined with the Gen2 elevator’s energy-efficient machine and other features like LED lighting, reduce overall energy consumption by 75% under normal operation compared with systems with non-regenerative drives.
Connected, touchless and purification technologies
The Gen2 elevator is available with the eView® streaming service, eCall® smartphone app and CompassPlus® destination management system to enhance the passenger experience. It’s also compatible with purification products that help protect passengers’ health and safety. Additionally, the Gen2 can be paired with Otis ONE® to use the Internet of Things and enable proactive, predictive and connected service – in real-time.
These offerings usher the Gen2 into a digital-first era where it will continue to advance to meet customer and passenger needs.
About Otis
Built on a legacy of innovation, Otis was founded in 1853 after Elisha Otis invented the elevator safety brake, giving rise to the modern city, transforming how people live and work, and revolutionizing architecture itself. Today, we are the world’s leading company for elevator and escalator manufacturing, installation and service. We move 2 billion people a day and maintain more than 2 million customer units worldwide, the industry’s largest maintenance portfolio. We can be found in many of the world’s most recognizable buildings, as well as the busiest transportation hubs and retail centers – we are everywhere people are on the move. Headquartered in Connecticut, USA, Otis is 69,000 people strong, including 40,000 field professionals, all committed to meeting the diverse needs of our customers and passengers in more than 200 countries and territories worldwide. To learn more, visit www.otis.com and follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter @OtisElevatorCo.
