Escalator Field Guide
Elevator Field Guide
Vertical Transportation Field Guide
iOSCounterweight: Six years, one industry, a lot fewer owners; NYC's brake deadline; Honolulu outages
The lead this issue is our own: six years of consolidation, from the KONE-TKE deal at the top to private equity buying the independents, the parts makers and now the inspectors. Around it: a New York brake-redundancy deadline that building owners are calling an unfunded mandate, hundreds of Honolulu residents stranded by storm-damaged elevators, a warning from Boston about dogs' paws on MBTA escalators, and six escalators lifted through an airport roof in a day.
Six years, one industry, a lot fewer owners
Since 2020 the ownership of the elevator trade has changed from the top down. thyssenkrupp sold its elevator arm to private equity for 17.2 billion euros; Otis was spun out of United Technologies; Fujitec went private under EQT; and this spring KONE agreed to buy TK Elevator for 29.4 billion, a deal now under a US Department of Justice second request and filed this week with India's competition regulator. Underneath the majors, private-equity rollups have bought the independent contractors, then the parts makers those contractors depend on, and since 2024 the inspection firms as well. Our feature traces who bought what, with every figure linked to the source, and what it means for a mechanic on the job.
Somerville Dog Owner Warns Pet Owners About MBTA Escalator Paw Injuries
Joel Tenenbaum of Somerville, Massachusetts, is urging pet owners to exercise caution on escalators after his dog Turner suffered a paw injury on an escalator at the MBTA's Sullivan Square Orange Line station. Tenenbaum contacted NBC10 Boston Investigators after following the outlet's reporting on the fatal escalator incident involving Steven McCluskey at the Davis Square MBTA station. The NBC10 Boston Investigators also found a separate incident in which a pet owner suffered a hand injury while trying to free their dog's leg from an escalator at the Alewife station. Turner made a full recovery after receiving veterinary treatment.
Storms Shut Down Elevators Indefinitely for Hundreds in Honolulu
A series of 2026 storms, including Kona low systems in March and Hurricane Lala, knocked out elevators in multiple Honolulu residential buildings, leaving hundreds of residents, many of them elderly or mobility-impaired, stranded in upper-floor apartments with no clear timeline for restoration. One 75-year-old resident of a McCully senior housing complex was effectively trapped in his seventh-floor apartment after the building's single elevator went down following Hurricane Lala. An elevator service professional told Civil Beat that the Kona low storms alone created weeks-long backlogs at motor repair shops, and that his company was shipping elevator motors to mainland facilities to keep up with demand. Restoration of affected elevators could take weeks or months.
Reality Check: New Elevator Code Is Latest Unfunded Mandate
The Real Deal published an opinion/analysis piece arguing that a new NYC elevator safety code requirement, mandating that traction elevators with a single plunger brake be upgraded to add redundancy by a 2027 deadline, constitutes an unfunded mandate. The article contends the requirement puts rent-stabilized buildings under additional financial strain, with one building owner citing an upgrade cost of roughly US$11,000 per building. The piece notes that while Major Capital Improvement (MCI) rent increases exist as a potential funding mechanism, qualifying for them is difficult, particularly as the city encourages tenants to report violations.
Turner Construction Installs Six Escalators Through Airport ConRAC Roof in Single Day
Turner Construction used a preconstruction-driven strategy to lower six escalators through temporary roof openings at the new Consolidated Rental Car Facility (ConRAC) at Gerald R. Ford International Airport in Grand Rapids, Michigan, completing all lifts in a single day without affecting the project schedule. Each escalator arrived in three sections and was assembled on site over approximately six weeks; laser measurements were used to verify roof opening dimensions before installation, and the crane operation was coordinated with airport and aviation requirements. The roof-lift approach eliminated the need for an internal multilevel hoisting system and additional structural reinforcement, and was identified by the project team as a cost-saving measure for the owner, though precise savings were not quantified. The ConRAC facility includes a four-story ready/return parking garage with an integrated customer service building, a three-story quick turnaround facility, and a climate-controlled skywalk connecting to the terminal.
Have a take on any of these stories, or news to share from your corner of the industry? Join the conversation at
Join the discussion on the forumFree, sourced, and kept current. No signup needed.
Find your code & safety authority: every province, territory and 26 US states →The elevator & escalator glossary: 317 terms in plain English →The A17 family tree: how the code books fit together →How to become an elevator mechanic in Canada →See all 13 references →