Elevator and design consultants are lauding a new elevator system from KONE Corp. that drastically reduces the weight of the hoisting cables—the bane of tall-building experts. The patented system, which replaces heavy steel ropes with lightweight carbon-fiber belts, increases the maximum feasible "nonstop" vertical run to one kilometer from about 600 meters. The system also significantly reduces elevator energy use, claims KONE, which is the world's second-largest elevator-escalator maker.
Jay Popp, executive vice president, international, for vertical transportation consultant Lerch Bates Inc., Denver, was at the launch of the system, called KONE UltraRope, in London on June 10. "It is a revolutionary new product," he says, calling it "breakthrough technology" that is going to make possible further advances in elevator design and tall-building architecture.