Engine room and the drive after modernisation by the Hübschmann company. (Photo: © Hübschmann Aufzüge)
May 2023
New construction of flats has declined. The consequences for the lift sector are and will be noticeable. Modernisation not only offers a way out here, but is a “win-win” situation too – not just for the companies, but for operators and the environment.
This is because (as was always the case) good money can be earned or saved this way while at the same time engaging in more sustainable management.
By Ulrike Lotze
Let us take the German residential market: the number of construction permits fell by 6.9 percent year over year, according to the German Federal Statistical Office. In Europe, there was an upward trend to mid-2022, but then a drop occurred here too. If fewer new buildings are built, fewer new lifts are erected – that is only logical. Is this a problem for the lift economy? Not necessarily.
"Let's be honest: our business is lucrative. Money is earnt primarily in service and maintenance. Modernisation also offers margins that are still attractive," wrote Volker Hager, managing director of Hydroware Germany three years ago in an article for the LIFTjournal. "New construction of lifts is different: it has almost no profit margin. "
Thus, the modernisation of lifts not only offers an economic way out for the sector, bringing in more money than new construction. Operators also benefit, since (partial) modernisation is of course more affordable than complete replacement. And it is definitely more sustainable – LIFTjournal reported extensively on this in the last issue.
"New construction has declined somewhat recently – in our case, the decrease was about 20 percent. This applies above all to flat construction," reported Andreas Lochbühler. He is one of the three managing directors of "Lochbühler Aufzüge", based in Mannheim, which he manages together with his brother Stefan and his father Karl-Heinz. The company has about 75 employees and is probably one of the oldest companies in the German lift sector.
Lochbühler has not been especially affected by the drop in new construction, "We’ve always been very active in the modernisation field," according to Andreas Lochbühler. But there had been a decline during the pandemic here too ("there were far fewer proprietor meetings"). In the meantime though, business was once again as good as before the pandemic.
The portfolio of course also included not just complete, but also partial, modernisations. "Guide rails and counterweights are only replaced if necessary and if there is a machine room, we make sure that it continues to be used," the mechanical engineer emphasised. "We’re ‘old school’ in that respect as well as saving energy and raw materials as a result." Customer wishes were naturally taken into account. "If necessary, only the safety-relevant modernisations are carried out, others - once the financial freedom of manoeuvre is there - in subsequent years."
The development in new construction is also noticeable in Korbach. "Demand has declined in our case by about 20 percent," stated Christoph Piorek, authorised signatory and technical director at the SME Hübschmann Aufzüge. But Hübschmann has also been able to adequately compensate for the waning demand. "Modernisation was already a hot topic for us before the sustainability trend." The proportion was also increasing at the company with its 130 employees.
The current trend to sustainability was still promoting this, "we notice that in customer discussions," the electrical engineer reported. It was an important subject above all for big customers and young discussion partners. But the economic arguments were of course also important to him: the prices for energy and raw materials had increased markedly, meaning economies were also being made in Korbach. Incidentally, the win-win situation for customers in (partial-) modernisations also included shutdown times for lifts being shorter and causing less dirt.
This was why partial modernisations were no problem at Hübschmann either, since it – just like Lochbühler – operated with open systems. "This allows us to engage in modular modernisations and also just exchange individual components. We design and produce a lot ourselves and as a result can react fast and flexibly." But Piorek also acted out of conviction, "Scrapping a perfectly good old lift is nonsense, the basis is often sound!"
Modernisation is also regarded as the supreme challenge for fitters. Finding qualified personnel is of course correspondingly difficult for lift builders. Lochbühler benefitted from its extensive training activity. Currently, it had seven trainees. "They work for us in every department: production, assembly, service. The experienced fitters pass on the in-house know-how," reported Andreas Lochbühler. But finding trainees was no longer as easy as before Corona for his company as well.
It was the same story at Hübschmann. Here too they engaged actively in training, currently with five trainees. "We do a lot of further training – internally and externally," Piorek revealed. "New entrants often start with new construction at our company and once they’ve learnt the ropes there, this is followed by customer service and eventually the supreme challenge, modernisation - that's not simple!" The transfer of knowledge from old to young colleagues was vital, but also occurred in the opposite direction, according to the authorised signatory. "The young colleagues help the older, more experienced colleagues when it comes to digitalisation."
More information: lochbuehler.de
huebschmann-aufzuege.de
Digitalpaper
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