Industry | Vertical transport systems |
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Founded | 1853 (acquired in 1976) |
Headquarters | Farmington, Connecticut, U.S. |
Products | Elevators and escalators |
Revenue | $12.0 billion (2015) |
Number of employees
|
More than 65,000 |
Parent | UTC |
Website | www |
The Otis Elevator Company is an American company that develops, manufactures and markets elevators, escalators, moving walkways and related equipment. A pioneer in its field, Otis is the world's largest manufacturer of vertical transportation systems, principally focusing on elevators, moving walkways and escalators. The company pioneered the development of the "safety elevator", invented by Otis in 1852, which used a special mechanism to lock the elevator car in place should the hoisting ropes fail.
Otis has installed elevators in some of the world's most famous structures, including the Eiffel Tower, Empire State Building, the original World Trade Center, The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, Petronas Twin Towers, Burj Khalifa, CN Tower, the Winchester Mystery House, the Hotel del Coronado, the Demarest Building (first electric elevator), the Singing Tower at Bok Tower Gardens and the Skylon Tower.
In 1852 Elisha Otis invented the safety elevator, which automatically comes to a halt if the hoisting rope breaks. After a demonstration at the 1854 New York World's Fair the elevator industry was on its way.
Otis was founded in Yonkers, New York in 1853 by Elisha Otis. It was acquired by United Technologies in 1976 and is a wholly owned subsidiary. Otis has more than 64,000 employees, with 2014 revenue of US$13.0 billion. The company headquarters are located in Farmington, Connecticut.