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The Otis Elevator Company is the world's largest manufacturer of vertical transportation systems today, principally elevator
Elevator

An elevator or lift is a vertical transport vehicle that efficiently moves people or goods between floors of a building. They are generally powered by electric motors that either drive traction cables and counterweight systems, or pump hydraulic fluid to raise a cylindrical piston....
s and escalator
Escalator

An escalator is a conveyor transport device for transport people, consisting of individual, linked steps that move up or down on tracks, which keep the treads horizontal....
s. Founded in Yonkers
Yonkers, New York

Yonkers is the fourth largest city in the U.S. State of New York , and the largest city in Westchester County, with a population of 196,086 . More recent estimates put the population at 197,234 in 2002, 197,126 in 2004 and 196,425 in 2005....
, New York
New York

The State of New York is a U.S. state in the Mid-Atlantic States and Northeastern United States regions of the United States and is the nation's List of U.S....
, USA in 1853 by Elisha Otis
Elisha Otis

Elisha Graves Otis invented a safety device that prevented elevators from falling if the hoisting cable broke. He worked on this device while living in Yonkers, New York in 1852, and had a finished product in 1854....
, the company pioneered the development of the safety elevator, invented by Otis, which used a special mechanism to lock the elevator car in place should the hoisting ropes fail. Otis made skyscraper
Skyscraper

A skyscraper is a tall, continuously habitable building. There is no official definition nor height above which a building may clearly be classified as a skyscraper....
s possible by providing safe mechanical transport to upper floors.

Otis has installed elevators in some of the world's most famous structures, including the Eiffel Tower
Eiffel Tower

The Eiffel Tower is an Puddle iron tower built on the Champ de Mars beside the Seine River in Paris. The tower has become a global Cultural icon of France and is one of the most recognizable structures in the world....
, Empire State Building
Empire State Building

The Empire State Building is a 102-story Art Deco skyscraper in New York City at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and West 34th Street. Its name is derived from the List of U.S....
, World Trade Center
World trade center

The World Trade Centers Association founded in 1970, is a not-for-profit, non-political association dedicated to the establishment and effective operation of World Trade Centers as instruments for trade expansion representing 316 members in 91 countries....
, The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror

The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, more commonly known as Tower of Terror, is a Drop tower thrill ride at Disney's Hollywood Studios, Disney's California Adventure Park, Tokyo DisneySea and Walt Disney Studios Park....
, Petronas Twin Towers
Petronas Twin Towers

The Petronas Twin Towers , in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia are twin towers and were the world's tallest buildings, before being surpassed by Taipei 101....
, CN Tower
CN Tower

The CN Tower, located in Downtown Toronto Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is a communications and observation tower standing tall. It surpassed the height of the Ostankino Tower while still under construction in 1975, becoming the List of tallest freestanding structures in the world in the world....
 and the Skylon Tower
Skylon Tower

The Skylon Tower, in Niagara Falls, Ontario, is the tallest structure that overlooks both the American Falls, New York and the larger Horseshoe Falls, Ontario from the Canada side of the Niagara River....
.

Statistically, Otis is the world's most popular transportation company.






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The Otis Elevator Company is the world's largest manufacturer of vertical transportation systems today, principally elevator
Elevator

An elevator or lift is a vertical transport vehicle that efficiently moves people or goods between floors of a building. They are generally powered by electric motors that either drive traction cables and counterweight systems, or pump hydraulic fluid to raise a cylindrical piston....
s and escalator
Escalator

An escalator is a conveyor transport device for transport people, consisting of individual, linked steps that move up or down on tracks, which keep the treads horizontal....
s. Founded in Yonkers
Yonkers, New York

Yonkers is the fourth largest city in the U.S. State of New York , and the largest city in Westchester County, with a population of 196,086 . More recent estimates put the population at 197,234 in 2002, 197,126 in 2004 and 196,425 in 2005....
, New York
New York

The State of New York is a U.S. state in the Mid-Atlantic States and Northeastern United States regions of the United States and is the nation's List of U.S....
, USA in 1853 by Elisha Otis
Elisha Otis

Elisha Graves Otis invented a safety device that prevented elevators from falling if the hoisting cable broke. He worked on this device while living in Yonkers, New York in 1852, and had a finished product in 1854....
, the company pioneered the development of the safety elevator, invented by Otis, which used a special mechanism to lock the elevator car in place should the hoisting ropes fail. Otis made skyscraper
Skyscraper

A skyscraper is a tall, continuously habitable building. There is no official definition nor height above which a building may clearly be classified as a skyscraper....
s possible by providing safe mechanical transport to upper floors.

Otis has installed elevators in some of the world's most famous structures, including the Eiffel Tower
Eiffel Tower

The Eiffel Tower is an Puddle iron tower built on the Champ de Mars beside the Seine River in Paris. The tower has become a global Cultural icon of France and is one of the most recognizable structures in the world....
, Empire State Building
Empire State Building

The Empire State Building is a 102-story Art Deco skyscraper in New York City at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and West 34th Street. Its name is derived from the List of U.S....
, World Trade Center
World trade center

The World Trade Centers Association founded in 1970, is a not-for-profit, non-political association dedicated to the establishment and effective operation of World Trade Centers as instruments for trade expansion representing 316 members in 91 countries....
, The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror

The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, more commonly known as Tower of Terror, is a Drop tower thrill ride at Disney's Hollywood Studios, Disney's California Adventure Park, Tokyo DisneySea and Walt Disney Studios Park....
, Petronas Twin Towers
Petronas Twin Towers

The Petronas Twin Towers , in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia are twin towers and were the world's tallest buildings, before being surpassed by Taipei 101....
, CN Tower
CN Tower

The CN Tower, located in Downtown Toronto Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is a communications and observation tower standing tall. It surpassed the height of the Ostankino Tower while still under construction in 1975, becoming the List of tallest freestanding structures in the world in the world....
 and the Skylon Tower
Skylon Tower

The Skylon Tower, in Niagara Falls, Ontario, is the tallest structure that overlooks both the American Falls, New York and the larger Horseshoe Falls, Ontario from the Canada side of the Niagara River....
.

Statistically, Otis is the world's most popular transportation company. It is estimated that the equivalent of the world's population travel in Otis elevators, escalator
Escalator

An escalator is a conveyor transport device for transport people, consisting of individual, linked steps that move up or down on tracks, which keep the treads horizontal....
s and moving walkway
Moving walkway

A moving walkway, moving sidewalk , moving pavement , autopedescalator, walkalator , travelator, autowalk, horizontal escalator, slidewalk or moveator is a slow conveyor belt that transports people horizontally or on an incline in a similar manner to an escalator....
s every three days. According to United Technologies, Otis elevators carry the equivalent of the world's population every nine days.

Otis was acquired by United Technologies in 1976 and is a wholly-owned subsidiary. The company has over 60,000 employees, with 2007 revenue of US$11.885 billion. The company headquarters are located in Farmington
Farmington, Connecticut

Farmington is a town located in Hartford County in central Connecticut in the United States. The population was 23,641 at the 2000 United States Census....
, Connecticut
Connecticut

Connecticut is a U.S. state located in the New England region of the northeastern United States. The state borders New York to the west and south , Massachusetts to the north, and Rhode Island to the east....
.

Otis has also dabbled in horizontal automated people-mover "shuttle" systems. In 1996, Otis formed a joint venture called Poma-Otis Transportation Systems with the French company Pomagalski to promote these products.

Otis Elevator Company purchased Express Evans Lifts in the UK. Evans Lifts was the oldest and largest manufacturer of lift equipment in the UK and was based in Leicester
Leicester

Leicester is a city status in the United Kingdom and unitary authority area in the East Midlands of England. It is the county town of Leicestershire....
, England
England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
 before being acquired by Express Lifts of Northampton
Northampton

Northampton is a large market town and Non-metropolitan district in the East Midlands region of England. It is about north-west of London and around south-east of Birmingham, and lies on the River Nene....
, to be known as Express Evans Lifts. Otis' Customer Care Centre is still based in the old Express Evans Lifts building in Leicester. The building has since been extended by Otis.

There are still some installations of Evans Lifts being used today. Notably, an original Evans Lift is still in the Silver Arcade in Leicester. It formerly transported people to the upper floors, but the upper floors are no longer occupied so the lift is no longer used.

Gen2 Elevator

Otis entered the machine-room-less market with the introduction of the Gen2 elevator system. Otis designed a technology system that employs flat polyurethane-coated steel belts that replace the heavy, woven steel cables which have remained the industry standard since the late 1800s. The belts are approximately 3 mm (0.1 inch) thick and allow for a smaller sheave than conventional elevators. Together with a redesigned machine, this allows the machine to be mounted within the hoistway itself.

The Gen2 Elevator is Otis' machine-room-less competitor to the Mitsubishi
Mitsubishi

The , Mitsubishi Group of Companies, or Mitsubishi Companies is a Japanese Conglomerate consisting of a range of autonomous businesses which share the Mitsubishi brand, trademark and legacy....
 Elenessa, KONE
KONE

Kone Corporation , founded in 1910 and headquartered in Espoo, Finland, is an international engineering and service company employing some 32,500 personnel worldwide....
 Monospace, Schindler
Schindler Group

The Schindler Group was founded in Switzerland in 1874 and is the largest manufacturer of escalators and the second largest manufacturer of elevators world wide....
 400A, ThyssenKrupp
ThyssenKrupp

ThyssenKrupp Aktiengesellschaft is a large Germany industry Conglomerate , with more than 200,000 employees. The corporation consists of 670 companies worldwide....
 Synergy, and Fujitec
Fujitec

is a company manufacturing elevators, escalators, and vertical mechanized parking equipment. It first began in Japan in 1948, and eventually expanded to many countries around the world....
 Talon.

Factory locations

  • Bangalore
    Bangalore

    Bangalore , officially Bengaluru , is the capital of the Indian States and territories of India of Karnataka. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's List of most populous cities in India and List of most populous metropolitan areas in India....
    , India
    India

    India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, the List of countries by population country, and the most populous liberal democracy in the world....
  • Berlin
    Berlin

    Berlin is the Capital of Germany city and one of sixteen States of Germany of Germany. With a population of 3.4 million within its city limits, Berlin is the country's largest city....
    , Germany
    Germany

    Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
  • Breclav
    Breclav

    Breclav is a town in the Czech Republic, southeast of Brno. It is located at the border with Lower Austria on the Dyje River. The next largest town in Austrian territory is Hohenau an der March....
    , Czech Republic
    Czech Republic

    The Czech Republic , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country borders Poland to the northeast, Germany to the west, Austria to the south and Slovakia to the east....
  • Caponago
    Caponago

    Caponago is a comune in the Province of Milan in the Italy region Lombardy, located about 12 km northeast of Milan. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 4,917 and an area of 5.0 km?....
    , Italy
    Italy

    Italy , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia....
  • Changwon
    Changwon

    Changwon is a Administrative divisions of South Korea in and the capital of South Gyeongsang Province in South Korea. The city is approximately 40 kilometres west of Busan on the Namhae Expressway....
    , South Korea
    South Korea

    South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea , ), often referred to as Korea and the "names of Korea#Revival of the names", is a Semi-presidential system republic in East Asia, located in the southern half of the Korean Peninsula....
  • Gien
    Gien

    Gien is a Communes of France in the Loiret Departments of France in north-central France.Gien is on the Loire River, from Orleans. The town was bought for the royal property by Philip II of France....
    , France
    France

    France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
  • Guangzhou
    Guangzhou

    'Guangzhou' is the Capital and a sub-provincial city of Guangdong Province of China in the northern and southern China part of the People's Republic of China....
    , China
    China

    China is a Culture of China, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
  • Kirkby, Merseyside, England
    England

    native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
     1955-2000
  • Madrid
    Madrid

    Madrid is the Capital and largest city of Spain. It is the Largest cities of the European Union by population within city limits in the European Union after Greater London and Berlin, and its Madrid metropolitan area is the Largest urban areas of the European Union in the European Union after Paris aire urbaine, Greater London Urban Area, a...
    , Spain
    Spain

    Spain or the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in Southern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though Espa?a , Estado espa?ol and Naci?n espa?ola are used interchangeably....
  • Nogales
    Nogales

    Nogales is a Spanish word meaning "walnut trees".As a geographical name, it is shared by several places:*Chile**Nogales, Chile*Mexico**Nogales, Chihuahua...
    , Mexico
    Mexico

    The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federalism constitutionalism republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico....
  • Puebla
    Puebla

    Puebla is a Political divisions of Mexico located in the center east of the country, to the east of Mexico City.The state of Puebla borders the states of Veracruz to the east, Hidalgo , Mexico State, Tlaxcala, and Morelos to the west, and Guerrero and Oaxaca to the south....
    , Mexico
    Mexico

    The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federalism constitutionalism republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico....
  • São Bernardo do Campo
    São Bernardo do Campo

    S?o Bernardo do Campo is a municipality located in the Greater S?o Paulo, in the state of S?o Paulo in Brazil....
    , Brazil
    Brazil

    Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is a country in South America. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, occupying nearly half of South America, the List of countries by population country, and the fourth most populous democracy in the world....
  • Shibayama
    Shibayama, Chiba

    is a towns of Japan located in Sanbu District, Chiba, Chiba Prefecture, Japan, southeast of the city of Narita, Chiba.Narita International Airport is located on the border between Shibayama and Narita....
    , Japan
    Japan

    Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south....
  • Tianjin
    Tianjin

    is the third largest city of the People's Republic of China in terms of urban population. Administratively it is one of the four municipality that have Political divisions of China status, reporting directly to the central government....
    , China
    China

    China is a Culture of China, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....


Otis had a factory in Bloomington, Indiana
Bloomington, Indiana

Bloomington is a city and the county seat of Monroe County, Indiana in the southern region of the U.S. state of Indiana. According to the United States Census, 2000, the city population was 69,291 and its Bloomington, Indiana metropolitan area had a population of 175,506....
. They still use the offices on the site.

Otis had a factory in Yonkers, New York
Yonkers, New York

Yonkers is the fourth largest city in the U.S. State of New York , and the largest city in Westchester County, with a population of 196,086 . More recent estimates put the population at 197,234 in 2002, 197,126 in 2004 and 196,425 in 2005....
. It was closed in 1983 and is now used to create subway cars for New York and New Jersey.

Otis had a large factory in Harrison
Harrison, New Jersey

Harrison is a Town in Hudson County, New Jersey, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the town population was 14,424....
, New Jersey
New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic States and Northeastern United States regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north by New York, on the east by the Hudson River and the Atlantic Ocean, on the southwest by Delaware, and on the west by Pennsylvania....
, USA.

Otis has a division which is located in Hatfield, PA and it is called Cemco Lift.

Otis has a test tower facility in Bristol, CT and a Service Center in Bloomfield, CT that serve their businesses in North and South America. Other test towers and service centers are located throughout the world.

See also

  • Otis Elevating Railway
    Otis Elevating Railway

    The Otis Elevating Railway was a cable funicular railroad to the Catskill Mountain House in Palenville, New York. For the first 64 years of its existence, the Catskill Mountain House was accessible only by a long stage coach from Catskill Landing on the Hudson....
  • ThyssenKrupp
    ThyssenKrupp

    ThyssenKrupp Aktiengesellschaft is a large Germany industry Conglomerate , with more than 200,000 employees. The corporation consists of 670 companies worldwide....
  • Schindler Group
    Schindler Group

    The Schindler Group was founded in Switzerland in 1874 and is the largest manufacturer of escalators and the second largest manufacturer of elevators world wide....
  • KONE
    KONE

    Kone Corporation , founded in 1910 and headquartered in Espoo, Finland, is an international engineering and service company employing some 32,500 personnel worldwide....
  • Escalator
    Escalator

    An escalator is a conveyor transport device for transport people, consisting of individual, linked steps that move up or down on tracks, which keep the treads horizontal....


External links

  • - BBC News, 21 February 2007 (Otis was fined 225 million euros for involvement)