Stannah engineers, based at the West Midlands and Mid- Wales service branch of Stannah Lift Services in Halesowen, have completed four challenging lift refurbishments for Euro Car Parks Limited at Five Ways in Birmingham.

The car park is also perfectly placed for Birmingham’s night life so the lifts were continually in use until years of inappropriate use and abuse had rendered them inoperable. The refurbishment programme of work was therefore extensive.

All four existing lifts, positioned in duplex pairs on either side of the car park, were originally supplied by other manufacturers and Stannah won the contract to carry out the refurbishments in consultation with Ray Holland, Lift Consultant from Holland Lift Services Ltd.

Ray summed up the challenges:
‘Our client was experiencing a major headache with the constant break down of these lifts and the nearby casino, whose clientele used the car park, was also unhappy. My brief was to provide a lift specification which would provide reliability, improve upon the previous products installed and ultimately withstand and deter the considerable amount of vandalism which had occurred in previous years. The combination of vandalism and poor product had let down everyone. With the footfall high in this prime location of Birmingham's busiest hot spot for night clubs, restaurants and bars, investment in the lifts was an urgent necessity. The new robust specification and the skill of the Stannah installation team, in particular Peter Bailey and Kelvin Williams, resulted in an excellent job and both car park owners and users are happier as a result.’

The lifts were all driven hydraulically and existing drive systems were updated with the installation of new hydraulic tank units, pumps and valve blocks with a complete refurbishment of motor rooms located near to each pair of lifts. This included the installation of new ILE Skycom controllers and associated works to improve the performance and economy of the units.

Each lift has a robust high quality door drive gear Selcom Pegasus for maximum resistance to damage, new brushed aluminium resilient landing door entrances along together with the complete replacement of all push buttons with high spec anti-vandal push buttons and push stations. The customer decided to retain the existing lift car but replace car operating panels, upgrade flooring, install new mirrors and essentially replace and improve car lighting and improve security.

The refurbishment project was managed by Scott Steele, Technical Sales Engineer of Stannah, and he is delighted with the results. He comments:
‘We approached the work in two distinct phases, ensuring full satisfaction from our client and consultant on the first duplex pair before proceeding with Phase 2. Each phase was completed in an eight week period of intensive activity. The new lifts have certainly improved the parking experience in this location and, with the new drive equipment, are providing a smooth ride, excellent car levelling and a safe journey. The day to day operation of the lifts is cost-saving too, compared to the cost of running the old equipment.’

Tom Hoyle, Operations Support Manager for Euro Car Parks summed up the success of the project:
‘We have no hesitation in recommending both Ray and Stannah for the professional way in which this project was carried out. There were no hidden surprises and we were kept fully informed throughout.

Regular maintenance and monitoring of these lifts will be crucial to maintain optimum performance and the Stannah Lift Services engineers are on-hand locally to ensure the equipment provide their vital role in England’s second city.'