John Taylor, resident of Cambridge, recently contacted Memco Ltd. about their Panachrome lift door safety edges. Mr Taylor is partially sighted, but clearly saw the bright red and green indicator lights from the system installed in Waterstone’s book store in Cambridge, and tracked down the manufacturers to tell them what he thought:

“I just wanted to let you know how impressed I have been with your Panachrome product, it was installed on two lifts in Cambridge when they were refurbished by Accord Lift Services, and they are a real help to me. The extra safety provided by the two coloured light sensors is really worth it I think, and I will actually be recommending it to a shopping centre manager I know for installation on all their lifts. I just wish more lift companies would install them as standard as they are of such great benefit – I really think it would help a lot of people. Many lifts are very difficult for people with impaired vision to use easily, and even ones which are DDA compliant could and should do more.”

He explained how such everyday activities as using automatic doors or reading signs and menus can be made into unnecessary challenges due only to a lack of forethought. “It’s not hard to have a large-print menu, or to install large buttons, but it can make a huge difference every single day. Even if someone had just forgotten their glasses, why not make it easy for them? The coloured lights from the Panachrome were something I hadn’t seen before, and I think they are a great way to help people like me. I really recommend them.”

Mr. Taylor has taken an admirably active stance in response to the challenges he encounters, and his energy for educating people about issues such as this has already led to enlightened attitudes and improved services from several companies and organisations.

Panachrome is Memco’s combined detector and indicator system for lift doors: as with other detectors, it uses a criss-crossing web of infra-red beams to detect any obstructions to the doors, and prevents them from closing on anyone or anything. What makes Panachrome different is that it also has LED lights on the door edges which flash ‘green for go’ when they are opening and ‘red for stop’ when closing, clearly and easily informing passengers of when it is safe to enter the lift. Importantly, these coloured indicators draw attention to the detectors themselves –several buildings where the system has been fitted have received positive feedback from users, not least because lift safety was something they simply had not thought about before.

Comments (0) »

March 2008 saw the official opening of Memco Limited’s impressive new production plant in the Czech Republic. The 4000 sq m new building is sited in the southern Bohemian city of Ceske Budejovice – an ideal central European distribution hub allowing easy access to the motorway network.

Memco is the world’s leading designer and manufacturer of lift safety edges, and rapidly increasing product demand has led to the development of this purpose-built factory. Nearly all Memco’s production is now housed under one roof, effectively streamlining the assembly operations. There is now capacity to produce 3000 sets of detectors per week – increasing to 3500 from May 2008. Jan Doubal, Memco’s Production Director, commented: “We have been using production facilities in the Czech Republic since 1999, but this is the first time that manufacturing and assembly have all been brought together. We currently have 160 staff and will be looking to increase that figure to 200 over coming year.” The plant has space on the adjoining site to expand production facilities by a further 50% as and when demand outgrows the current production capacity.

Andrew Williams, Chief Executive of Halma p.l.c., Memco’s parent company, cut the ribbon to mark the official opening of this new facility. He warmly welcomed a number of local dignitaries including Jan Zahradnik, Chairman of South Bohemia District Council, Juraj Thoma, Mayor of Ceske Budejovice and Mike Moon, Head of Trade and Investment from the British Embassy in Prague.

All guests were taken on a walking tour of the new facility and had the opportunity to see the state of the art technology at work. All work areas are built to suit work flow patterns and individual products, helping employees understand how their individual contribution fits in to the overall product build. The management team are particularly satisfied with the working environment – air conditioned, well lit, wide aisles and modern high-tech machinery.

Peter Bailey, Managing Director of Memco, who co-hosted the event, expressed his thoughts on the new development: “We are delighted with the success of our continued investment in the region, and opening this facility is a great boost to our production capacity and efficiency. We originally planned this building to give us enough space for future growth into the next decade; however increasing business volumes may see a further expansion earlier than we expected.”

Local media extensively covered the event, and several emphasised the links that Memco could provide to the community and particularly schools in the area. Local education establishments area are keen to make sure that they are providing students with the appropriate knowledge for the world of commerce and Memco will be working with them to help build suitable learning modules.

Memco sits with sister companies Janus, TL Jones and E-Motive within the Elevator Safety Division of Halma p.l.c., a FTSE 250 company with an annual turnover of £350 million. In addition to a wide range of safety edges, accessories and emergency telephones for lifts, Memco also supplies lift displays across Europe, Africa and South America. Sister companies TL Jones and Janus ensure that the same extensive product ranges are on offer across Asia and North America respectively.

Comments (0) »