One hundred and sixty-five years ago, Otis was founded by an industrial pioneer who revolutionized architecture and the way that we move. Today, Otis, a unit of United Technologies Corp (NYSE: UTX), and its filial in Spain, Zardoya Otis, continue work to achieve freedom of movement. Zardoya Otis is pleased to announce its integration of LV3, a company specialised in accessibility equipment, into its group. With this acquisition, Zardoya Otis consolidates its strategy to help achieve freedom of movement for all groups with different abilities. The company continues supporting universal accessibility and takes a step forward by integrating the LV3, specialised in barrier removal equipment.

Stairs and ramps become barriers that can limit the movement of elderly people, those with mobility challenges or with sensorial limitations. In order to support freedom of movement, there are systems that enable overcoming almost any architectural barrier. In addition to lifts and escalators, platforms and stairlifts are a great help to improve accessibility, since they allow going up and down floors of a building quickly and safely. Thus, Zardoya Otis continues moving forward its policy of eliminating architectural barriers and advancing its range of accessibility solutions with stairlifts and platforms that can be adapted to any building with models to serve straight, curved and vertical stretches.

The 6.5 million Spanish citizens over the age of 70 and the 3.8 million people with physical disabilities could be the main beneficiaries of this equipment that facilitates mobility inside and outside the house, prevents accidents and contributes to improved quality of life.

“Our goal is that everybody can enjoy the best possible quality of life 24 hours a day, especially, of course, in their own home. No one should be afraid of stairs or feel trapped in their own house. Therefore, in order to further expand our platforms and stairlifts offerings and knowledge, we are continuing this journey that already began with the support of LV3”, says Javier Barquín, managing director of Zardoya Otis.

LV3 is a Spanish company that has a team of experts with more than 25 years of professional experience in the accessibility sector, providing some of the best solutions for each project. In addition to local knowledge, since 2012 the company partnered with Lehner Lifttechn, an Austrian company with great experience in accessibility technology. LV3 has a wide catalogue of stairlift solutions for indoor and outdoor spaces, straight or curved stairs, both for private and public use.

New Accessibility Law
Even though the deadline for residential buildings to eliminate architectural barriers that limit mobility for people with disabilities and people over 70 ended on 4th December, still 77% of buildings have not undertaken the relevant works, according to the General Council of Spanish Property Administrators Associations (CGCAFE). According to the figures of the Spanish Business Federation of Lifts (FEEDA), in Spain there are 1.2 million residential buildings built before 1981 that do not have a lift.

Facing this challenge urgently is a priority for Zardoya Otis, due to the volume of affected population: almost 6.5 million Spanish citizens are over the age of 70 and there are 3.8 million people with disabilities in our country, according to the INE.

For this reason, Zardoya Otis works continuously to promote accessibility through innovation applied to its products and services, operations such as LV3, and information actions such as the conferences on architectural barrier removal held during 2017 in several Spanish cities in collaboration with ONCE and Servimedia.

Otis is the world’s leading manufacturer and maintainer of people-moving products, including elevators, escalators and moving walkways. Founded 165 years ago by the inventor of the safety elevator, Otis offers products and services through its companies in approximately 200 countries and territories. Otis is a unit of United Technologies Corp., a leading provider to the aerospace and building systems industries worldwide. By combining a passion for science with precision engineering, the company is creating smart, sustainable solutions the world needs. For more information, visit www.otis.com, or follow Otis on LinkedIn, YouTube and as @OtisElevatorCo on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.