ETA-Melco Elevator Company - a joint venture company between Emirates Trading Agency, Dubai, and Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Japan - supplied a total of 55 elevators and escalators for the overall Dubai International Convention Centre project.

The company deals with Mitsubishi elevators, escalators, moving walkways and dumbwaiters.

ETA-Melco is an ISO-certified and has also won international acclaim for three of its projects in 2001. The company's installations at the Emirates Tower, Burj Al Arab and the new terminal at the Dubai International Airport were rated among the world's best projects by the top international elevators magazine "The Elevator World."

"Over the past two decades, we have maintained the number one position and our market share despite competition from other branded companies which is due to the quality standards of both our product and services," says Ahamed Meeran, senior sales manager, marketing and sales.

With a 55 per cent share of the market, ETA-Melco is popularly known as the elevator people of the Gulf. Around 800 units per year are being sold in the UAE by ETA-Melco.

The company employs around 1,700 staff which includes 350 executive staff and 1,350 technicians and operates in 13 countries including Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, Sri Lanka, India, Turkey, Bangladesh, CIS countries and Maldives with branches in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain.

The units are regularly serviced and the company provides round-the-clock breakdown call service to maintain elevators and escalators even under peak conditions. More than 8,000 elevators are under comprehensive maintenance.

As a back-up for its maintenance commitments, the company also maintains as adequate spares inventory in its stores.

Describing the company's scope of work in Dubai International Convention Centre project, Meeran says: "ETA-Melco has supplied 55 elevators and escalators to this project in three phases.

"The first phase entailed the construction of two hotel buildings for which the company supplied 14 elevators.

"For the second phase - the Convention Centre, multistorey car-park and concourse - it supplied 19 elevators and escalators.

"The third phase comprised the office and podium building where ETA-Melco supplied 17 escalators and elevators. Five elevators were installed at the exhibition halls.

Of these 55 units, four elevators are machineroom-less and three hydraulic.

He continues: "Elevators installed in the high-rise buildings have a speed of 1.75 m per second. The capacities of the elevators vary from 8 to 18 passengers.

"The lifts incorporate artificial intelligence with a refined inverter drive and data network systems to ensure the performance suits the traffic pattern requirements.

The machineroom-less Mitsubishi elevators supplied for this project are manufactured using the latest technology. The control panel is small and slim and kept inside the lift shaft to avoid any safety hazards and tampering. The machineroom-less units use PML motors which are currently smallest in the world and are accommodated inside the lift shaft. These machines are gearless, providing power savings as a result. The elevators are of the self-standing type with no vertical reaction loads on the building structure except pit.

"For the Dubai International Convention Centre, we were able to meet the client's schedule and had no trouble in executing the job. It was done to the satisfaction of the client and the consultant and we are proud to have been a part of this prestigious project," he says.

"One of the many challenges we faced while executing this project was replacing the existing elevators inside the existing small elevator shafts. We were successful in designing the new equipment within a short time and still managed to complete the job 15 days prior to schedule - all this was possible only due to the dedication and correct approach of ETA-Melco, right from top management to the technicians," he points out.

"The Dubai market is currently experiencing rapid development and there is a lot of scope for elevators and escalators. So we believe our sales volume will increase accordingly in the forthcoming years," Meeran adds.

ETA-Melco is currently in the process of developing computerised maintenance information and control systems. The computers to be located under one roof at ETA-Melco's head office will be connected to all elevator installations (based on client's requirement).