DONMUNG TO HEAD ASIA UNIT FOR GARAVENTA
DONMUNG TO HEAD ASIA UNIT FOR GARAVENTA
Goldau, Switzerland-based Garaventa Lift Group, a global manufacturer and installer of custom lifts, including home and commercial elevators and accessibility solutions, has named Ronny Donmung as business-development manager for Asia. Donmung, with more than 20 years in the accessibility lift business, spent the past seven years as managing director of Garaventa Lift Germany. Prior to this, he spent 10 years as managing director for thyssenkrupp Accessibility in Germany and Austria, and had also worked for Lifta Stairlifts.
NYC SUBWAY STATION TO RECEIVE FOUR ELEVATORS
The New York City (NYC) Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) will close the Astoria Boulevard subway station for nine months during an overhaul of the facility that includes the addition of elevators, the Astoria Post reports. Four elevators will be installed at the station: two from the street to the mezzanine, and two from the mezzanine to the platform. The work will require significant changes to accommodate the elevators, including completely replacing the mezzanine, and reinforcing the columns and foundation. MTA said the work would be "substantially completed" by 2020.
RESIDENTIAL TOWER PLANNED IN DOWNTOWN PHOENIX
A 1.3-acre site in Downtown Phoenix has been purchased for the construction of a residential tower, AZ Big Media reports. North American Development Group, through one of its entities, plans to build Palmcourt Tower, a 29-story, 354-unit apartment building in Arizona Center, a mixed-use project under development. The tower will include seven floors of parking, with 30,000 sq. ft. of indoor/outdoor space on the eighth floor that will house a fitness/yoga facility, lounges and a roof garden with pool and spa. Among other projects in Arizona Center is a 200-room hotel being developed by Marriott, which is expected to begin construction this summer.
BOY THROWN BY BAG CAUGHT ON ESCALATOR DIES
A 10-year-old boy who fell while riding an escalator died on April 13, three days after he was injured in the incident at a shopping mall in Chennai, India, The News Minute reported. According to police, the child was at the mall with his family when a bag he was holding got caught on the escalator and he was thrown down from the second floor. Family members blamed the mall's management for a lack of safety measures, but police filed the case as an accidental death. An inspector called the incident a "freak accident," adding, "there is nothing the mall could have done." He said many cases in which children are hurt on escalators are the result of the parents' inattentiveness.
UAE VT MARKET POISED FOR NEARLY 5% GROWTH
A projection from global market research company 6Wresearch foresees a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.7% in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) vertical-transportation (VT) market through 2024, Trade Arabia reports. In a report titled "UAE Elevator and Escalator Market (2018-2024)," 6Wresearch cites several factors contributing to the boom: growing acceptance of elevators in the residential sector; the increasing height of buildings; and more than US$200 billion worth of infrastructure projects in conjunction with World Expo 2020. Also cited were increasing numbers of tourists, especially in Dubai, which has led to the construction of new hotels.
