5 minute read
Lift Emotion – Excellence in elevator engineering
Lift Emotion Founders Mike Brandt (left) and Eef Kwakkel (right).
Excellence in elevator engineering
Where would the superyachts of today be without all the motivated, innovating, and strong yacht suppliers who make the dreams of yacht builders and owners come true? Based in the North-East of the Netherlands, in Meppel, and serving a global clientele, Lif Emotion is a specialist supplier of elevator solutions and specially engineered products to the yachting, ofshore, residential and commercial sectors.
ALL PHOTOS COURTESY OF LIFT EMOTION. Lif Emotion, founded by Mike Brandt and Eef Kwakkel, was launched in 2007. The company’s vision is to design and build innovative elevators for installation aboard yachts. Lif Emotion started its works in the Netherlands, afer which it expanded to Europe, the US, and eventually worldwide. From an innovative elevator or dumb waiter for your superyacht to a glass lif for your home, from a crew or passenger elevator to a lif suitable for the toughest industrial conditions, Lif Emotion designs, builds, and installs bespoke solutions. Thanks to their worldwide experience, you can rely on top quality products that excel in terms of both design and functionality. Made with precision technology and maintained in accordance with premium standards, Lif Emotion ofers solutions that last.
Yachting design and build
To suit the needs of this most bespoke of industries, where little is ever standard, Lif Emotion provides superyacht builders and owners with truly custom design, construction and service. Practically everything the company does is one-of-akind, meeting the requirements of some of the world’s most demanding clients. Based amid the world’s foremost cluster of yachtbuilding excellence in the Netherlands, Lif Emotion ofers a wide-
Lift Emotion’s new 20 x 30 meter assembly hall.
ranging involvement with international clients and certifcation bureaus. The designs, builds and implementation of elevators come in all types and sizes for a wide range of needs and solutions. Some highly creative people work in the various disciplines at Lif Emotion, including naval architects, which is why the company is regularly commissioned by companies with specifc technical challenges that cannot be solved elsewhere.
Special engineering
The company takes great pride in bringing together precision technology, extensive experience, and state-of-the-art techniques to create special engineering solutions other than elevators. A good example is their Lifebuoy Shooting Unit (LSU), the latest version of which can be placed behind a hatch; when needed, the buoy and smoke pot shoot out of the bulwark. Another recent innovation which has been installed on various yachts is their pop-up elevator design, integrated into the superstructure to deliver problem-free access to the sun deck and/or beach club. >>
A word from the founders
We talked to Directors Mike Brandt and Eef Kwakkel to fnd out more about some of the challenges the company had to face during the pandemic and of course to get a sneak peek of some exciting future projects that Lif Emotion is working on.
How has the pandemic impacted the business and how has the company handled that? Mr Brandt comments, “Like any other company, ours was also impacted. In our case, installing elevators on ships requires the most work. We have managed to adjust that process during the pandemic, by pre-assembling a lot here in Meppel and sending the product to the client in one or two pieces, so that clients could install it themselves with remote help from us. In other projects, we ofered remote assistance and we even remotely assisted with the assembly of an elevator via video calls.”
What are you most proud of when looking back at last year? According to Mr Kwakkel, “Without a doubt, we are most proud of our new assembly hall in Meppel. We received the keys to the new hall last year in July. It allows us to assemble our elevator shafs and distribute them including the glass to the yachts and residences of our clients.”
How do you play into sustainability in your products? Mr Brandt says, “We have been working with variable frequency drives for our elevators, which allow for a reduced energy consumption of 30 to 50%. We also aim to always build as light as possible, yet strong and solid.”
We cannot help but be a little bit curious about upcoming projects. Could you give us a sneak peek? Both Mr Brandt and Mr Kwakkel smile while they share, “At the moment, we have three round elevator shafs in our assembly hall. They will be placed in an 80m long yacht, a 120m long yacht, and one in a private home in France.”
Special pop-up elevator with glass cabin, with special sliding landing door on the sundeck. Special glass elevator cage which was assembled in Meppel. The client didn’t have any remarks.
A four-level glass elevator with mirror fnish, from sketch to reality.
Reft, upgrade, and maintenance service
In addition to providing premium products and solutions, Lif Emotion also carries out refts and refurbishing or upgrades of various equipment to a wide variety of specifcations. The company can renovate, modernise, alter, or enhance any marine elevator according to the client’s needs and desires and the very latest yachting trends. Lif Emotion equipment is made to last, but time always takes its toll and unforeseen events can happen. This is why the company deploys advanced technology that allows them to remotely check the status of equipment at the client’s request, and thereby see what is wrong and how to fx it. If there is a problem, they may be able to also solve it remotely or support a client’s engineers as they do so on location, even out at sea. Lif-Emotion’s own technicians stand ready to help on-site with reliable service and maintenance activities when required.
i. lift-emotion.com
