Elevator Industry Group Of Southern California

ELEVATOR INDUSTRY GROUP

FLOOR 1

INFORMATION ABOUT THE GROUP

The ELEVATOR INDUSTRY GROUP OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA is an informal not for profit association formed in 1947 and in continual existence since that time. The purpose of the group is to facilitate the common interests of the elevator industry and the public welfare by social interaction and bilateral information distribution. Membership is open to all persons sharing those interests. Luncheon meetings are held on the third Tuesday of the months of January through May and September through December at:

Les Freres Taix Restaurant

1911 Sunset Boulevard

Los Angeles, CA

(213) 484-1265

11:30 AM

• An annual Golf Tournament is held in June and activities are suspended for the traditional vacation months of July and August.

Officers are elected each November for the following calendar year. The officers for 2007 are:

President:             Mike Shaw

Vice President:      Allan Lloyd

Secretary:             John Brannon

Treasurer:              Estella McIntosh

Sergeant at Arms: Doris Brannon

Benefits:

Informational - A speaker at each meeting gives presentation about matters of interest - public and individual safety - the latest products and services - Codes and other legal matters affecting the industry - technical matters of interest.

In addition to these presentations, much useful information is available by individual association. Many public officials are members and regularly attend meetings. Other members are associated with Code formation in various ways and provide reports on current happenings. Others represent various manufacturers, suppliers and service companies, labor unions, etc. The camaraderie provides an ideal medium for exchange of information and ideas.

Social - In addition to the monthly luncheon meetings, there is the annual Golf Tournament and other social events are scheduled from time to time. In addition to a monthly door prize, a raffle is held for numerous prizes donated by members, with a portion of the proceeds benefiting the ELEVATOR AND ESCALATOR SAFETY FOUNDATION.

History - In response to how the Group was founded, Ed Ryan, one of the founders, penned the following in 1966:

A few may remember, but most don’t, when, and how the Elevator Industry Group of Southern California got its’ start.

It was in 1947 that a few of us thought it might be a good idea if the Elevator people in the Los Angeles area stopped calling each other bastards long enough to sit around a luncheon table and get acquainted. During the intervening nineteen years at least one of these goals has been attained — we sit down to lunch.

A date was agreed on and, in October of 1947 we had our first meeting in a private dining room at the Elk’s Club on Parkview and Sixth Street. The following men at that first meeting organized the group:

Terry Osterberg (Otis), Gano Baker and John Lindburg (Westinghouse), Alfred Montapert (Elevator Maintenance Co), Fred Kalte (Elevator Equipment Co.), Al Gorton (Beckwith Elevator Co.), Ed Ryan (Elevator Supplies Co.), Bev. Smith (Los Angeles Elevator Co.), Al Darancette (United Elevator Co.), Gael Rogers and Tobe Tyler (Kimball Elevator Co.), Griff Williams and Frank Park (Oliver and Williams) and Al Conley (Pacific Coast Elevator Co.). Of this group of good men and true, over half have gone clear up to the penthouse to their final reward.

They organized into a regular luncheon group, picked a name, decided to meet once a month at Lindy’s Restaurant at Wilshire and Harvard and elected a president and Vice President. For some unexplainable reason, Ed Ryan was elected President. Fred Kalte, one of the really valuable men to the group in its early years, was elected Vice President.

The Elk’s Club Building has since been auctioned off. Lindy’s Restaurant has long since been demolished. But the Group, hatched by those old men continues and, in the capable hands of the younger generation, will go on for years to come, becoming more successful as it does.

Just keep in mind the thing we originally met for — to prove to ourselves and to each other that no one in the Elevator Industry is REALLY a Bastard.

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We hope that others will write additions to the foregoing to update the history.  I believe that all those founding members are gone now and it is interesting to note that of the original founding Companies -

OTIS was acquired by UNITED TECHNOLOGIES.

WESTINGHOUSE was acquired by SCHINDLER ELEVATOR.

ELEVATOR MAINTENANCE was sold to HAUGHTON ELEVATOR, which was acquired by TOLEDO SCALE, which was sold to RELIANCE ELECTRIC, which sold the Elevator operations to SCHINDLER.

BECKWITH ELEVATOR, ELEVATOR SUPPLIES, UNITED ELEVATOR, KIMBALL ELEVATOR, OLIVER & WILLIAMS and PACIFIC COAST ELEVATOR no longer exist. ELEVATOR EQUIPMENT COMPANY and a later day incarnation of LOS ANGELES ELEVATOR CO. are still active.

So, the group has survived all its’ founders and most of the companies they represented. Some companies not in existence or not active in the United States back in 1947 are currently major “players” in the Industry. Among them are three International firms - Swiss based SCHINDLER (mentioned above), Finnish based KONE and German based ThyssenKrupp. Also very active in the US market is a pair of Japanese firms, FUJITEC and MITSUBISHI. In the interim, several US based companies rose to prominence, only to be absorbed by overseas firms, among them were DOVER (purchased by ThyssenKrupp) and MONTGOMERY (purchased by KONE). All these and many others are or have been active in the Group at various times.