5 Secrets About Home Elevators

The home elevator industry in Cambodia seems like a small niche industry at first, but it has lots secrets. However, one quickly discovers that there are dozens of companies in this space. For example, giants like Kone and Otis or home lift specialists like Cibes and Kalea.

Unsurprisingly, and like with any industry, there are many industry secrets well-known to insiders. In this e-mail, we want to unpack the most common secrets that we feel all customers should know before choosing a home elevator.

Secret #1 – Not All Lifts are Home Lifts

Despite what the traction companies would like you to believe, their lifts are actually terrible for the home. Much like a bus is not suited for the transportation of a single person, a traction lift is rarely suitable for a single family – no matter how many family members there are! Instead, they are at their best for high-rise buildings and high-traffic areas.

Meanwhile, lifts such as screw drive elevators are much better suited for the home for the simple reason that they optimize space. For any given home, a screw drive will require less space than a traction lift while providing MORE standing space for passengers!

Moreover, screw-driven lifts don’t require a machine room or a pit. They ensure that they create only minimal civil works, no damage to the home’s foundations, and offer an opening on the roof.

Secret #2 – Choose Your Supplier Carefully – Elevator Cambodia Secrets

The barriers to entry in the home lift market are surprisingly low. Every year, dozens of dealers pop up selling products from small European, Chinese or Indian manufacturers. And every year, just as many go out of business, leaving their clients with a lift no one can repair, or worse, no lift at all (and no money!).

This is why one of the most valuable secrets of the home lift industry is to prioritize buying direct from factory instead of through dealers. With a direct-from-factory purchase, you have peace of mind that the company isn’t going anywhere. Nor will it suddenly shift to another company’s products because they offer higher margins!

Similarly, it is important to look at how long a company has been in business – if a company is offer 5 years warranty but has only existed for 2… watch out! Cibes Lift has been sellings lifts since 1947, and Kalea since 1898! You don’t survive for that long without exceptional products and service!

Secret #3 – 2 Business Models

Another big Elevator Cambodia secrets is that you will find two main business models in the home lift market, namely:

• Sell lift for cheap, make money on the maintenance
• Sell lift at the right price, keep maintenance to a minimum

The first one is called the “Razor Business Model” after the razor companies that sell the razor for cheap but make money on selling very expensive razor blades. Many companies do so in the market, with a cheap entry price but then locking you up to expensive cable changes or hydraulic oil top ups.

The best way to figure out which is which is to ask how many maintenances a year each lift requires. With a screw driven, you are at 1-2 maintenances a year – firmly in the second business model. With traction and hydraulic, you can reach up to 12 maintenances a year – clearly in the Razor business model!

Secret #4 – Maintenance and Spare Parts are 2 Different Costs!

This little elevator Cambodia secrets is a known bad-surprise for customers. While the maintenance may look cheap, it is because it only includes the labor of the workers. Any broken parts are not included, and are charged at high multiples of cost.

The biggest way to control this cost is to look at the complexity of the system. A traction system has many, many parts, which creates far more repairs than any other system. These repairs can be very costly, such as changing cables or motors. Hydraulic, while a simpler system, relies on costly top-ups of hydraulic oil. By far the simplest system is screw-drive, with the main spare parts to regularly change being emergency batteries.

Secret #5 – Not All Glass is Created Equal – Elevator Cambodia Secrets

As glass lifts are becoming the new standard, it is all the more important to ask your supplier what type of glass they are using.

Many manufacturers try to cut costs by offering only tempered glass, which, while safe in that it doesn’t create jagged spikes of glass when broken, still breaks very easily.

The top of the line glass is tempered AND laminated glass, which will not shatter but instead act like a windshield (and is 5x more expensive than regular tempered glass). This is particularly important as even if the glass is inadvertently broken. It will not create a dangerous hole in the shaft and a giant safety risk. Instead, it will maintain a continuous shaft until a technician can come and replace the glass panel.

There you have it! 5 of the best kept secrets in the industry! Do you know any more? Let us know by email!