Depending on the project scope, the range for component modernisation lies between days and some weeks. Smaller retrofits may only take a few hours, whereas extensive upgrades that involve a new drive and controller, require a coordinated scheduling and pre-information of tenants.

No matter how extensive your planned measures may be, our modernisation experts will always work out a detailed installation plan and offer consultation on accompanying measures to mitigate the impact of the elevator being taken out of service.

Elevator systems comprise of a lot of heavy and some quite chunky components. But the good thing is: almost all of them are located behind doors or tucked away in a machine room. In contrast to a new installation or full replacement, where usually a lot of drilling is involved without doors yet installed, one can expect very little to no formation of dust or extremly loud noise outside the shaft during a typical component modernisation.

Meticulous job-site planning is key to an efficient installation, ensuring the shortest possible downtime of your elevator. We also strive to minimise the disturbance for tenants, for example by defining and then exclusively using predefined routes and entry points to take materials in and out of the elevator shaft, the machine room and through the building.

What to do when an elevator breaks down frequently or does not perform as it should? Of course, get a repair! Swap the broken or worn-down part with a new one, and you're good to go. Unfortunately, after a few decades in operation the "fix and go"-approach gets complicated (e.g. difficulty in sourcing of outdated components) and expensive (e.g. higher frequency of repairs needed). Owners end up with a lot of repair bills but still have an ageing elevator and every disadvantage that comes with it.

The difference between the repairing of components and their timely executed modernisation is that the latter results in an upgrade and extends the lifecycle of the elevator significantly by "rejuvenation" instead of "continued life support". Our modernisation experts will always alert you about measures needed so that you do not miss the crucial moment when it's time to get out of the repair chapter and into the modernisation phase.

Most likely: decades! No matter if you gave your lift a once-over with an extensive upgrade of the key mechanical and electric components, or if you chose to upgrade step-by-step according to a calculated plan over the course of a few years – the outcome will always be a significant extension of the overall product life span accompanied by improvements in safety, performance, design, ride quality and energy efficiency.

What's more: You can expect far less breakdowns and repairs, leaving you with fewer costs apart from the regular maintenance, which of course still has to be carried out on all elevators, independent of their age or degree of usage.

A full replacement elevator is essentially an installation of a completely new elevator system in the existing shaft. Therefore costs similar to a new installation can be expected. That said, not included in this estimation are architectural challenges like very small shafts, unusual cabin proportions, addition of new stops etc.

On the other hand, with a right-sized shaft, suitable door openings and good conditions for wiring (usage of existing routes), time and costs on the installation can be saved. Always keep one factor in mind, though: Before any installation of the full replacement can commence, the old elevator first has to be de-commissioned.

There's really just one scenario where there's no way to keep a building in motion other than with the installation of a full replacement elevator: it's when modernisation measures on the existing lift are no longer technically and economically feasible.

If your trusted elevator expert asserts both factors, then you have done everything right in the past! Most likely your unit has remained in operation for decades and received upgrades of major components gradually throughout the usage period. Your investments extended the product life cycle significantly and probably have saved you enough (e.g. on energy, breakdown and repair bills) to even balance the costs for the full replacement.

The question to ask first is: What's the reason to "throw away" an elevator and install a new one in its place? If it's because the lift is 35+ years old and can't be upgraded any longer in a financially sensible manner to meet the desired standards, then it's probably time to restart the product life cycle with a full replacement.

However, with most elevators in low-traffic residential and commercial buildings, there's seldomly the need to take them out after just 20 years or even less. A finetuned step-by-step modernisation concept will extend the usage period for another two decades, and improve safety, ride comfort and the overall look-and-feel just as much as a new system. Plus: It requires less downtime for installation and you may be able to split the necessary investment into smaller upgrade packages.