Family-owned elevator company capitalizes on new standards

MEDILL NEWS SERVICE

Because of a new Illinois law, business is up 25 percent at a Bensenville elevator service company. But workers are high-priced and not easy to find.

A 2001 statute requires elevator buildings to meet new safety standards by July of this year, and Colley Elevator Co., a family-owned, 30-person company is happy to help them comply.

For property owners, some of whom have spoken against the state law, modernization could be as little as $3,000 to $5,000 for an elevator built in 2007. But for the owners of older buildings, the price could be as high as $100,000. The work could cover elevator hydraulics, electrical systems, door systems and emergency systems, and might require four to six weeks.

Colley Elevator, which installed some of the elevators in Chicago's Lakeview neighborhood apartment buildings 60 years ago, is once again adapting to changes in an industry that has become dominated by large multinational service companies, according to Ray Zomchek, 71, president of the company.

"While (compliance with the law) is a real hardship for us, we are very impressed with Colley," stated Dick Higgins, 70, president of a condominium at 100 North Regency Drive in Arlington Heights. "Zomchek seems to be head and shoulders above the others and is very flexible to our needs."

Higgins went on: "We're all seniors in this building. We understand that the elevator will not be available for two to four weeks sometime this year, and we agree with the principle of safety, but that time without the elevator will hamper our movement."

According to Higgins, the 13 condominium owners will split the $90,000 elevator renovation cost but that price could increase. "It's like surgery," Higgins explained. "The doctor will perform a certain task for a set price, but if he discovers other problems while he's in there, he will charge more money for fixing the other problems."

Colley estimates that it has 800 clients - located as far as Indiana and ranging out to Sandwich, Ill., and to Waukegan - generating approximately $4 million in revenue and earning roughly a 10 percent profit margin in 2007. Some clients have been with Colley for more than 40 years. "Our business is based on how comfortable people are with dealing with us," said Zomchek's son Craig, 28, the business manager.

The law requires that only state-certified elevator service firms may perform elevator work. As of Oct. 2, 2007, there were 76 licensed elevator contractors in Illinois, according to the Office of the State Fire Marshall's Web site.

In Illinois there are 20,000 elevators; 14,718 are currently registered under the new law, and the remainder were in the registration process as of Jan. 24, according to a spokeswoman for the Office of the State Fire Marshall. The city of Private residences are exempt from the program, as is the city of Chicago, which is required to enforce standards equal to the state's.

There are different types of elevators: traction or hydraulic. There are different types of projects: modernization, installing emergency phones, replacing door operators, switching power units or the servicing of emergency brake systems. And different types of technology: mechanical components, solid-state electronics and proprietary systems that are restricted to specially qualified personnel.

Obtaining the necessary specialized workers presents a challenge for Colley. "Older, more experienced engineers will likely retire in a few years," said Craig Zomchek. "We're always recruiting at all ages and will work with local colleges and junior colleges to find people to learn the business."

The top 25 percent of Chicago elevator installers and repairers earn approximately $94,000 annually; the top 25 percent in Illinois earn $87, 500 annually. The nationwide average is $74,000 approximately, according to the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity's Web site.

As it seeks to rise to the occasion, Colley Elevator looks beyond, too. The new law will create only a short-term increase in business, observes Craig Zomchek. "There is only a limited amount of work for a limited amount of time," he said.

To secure its position in the market, Colley plans to increase its customer base by servicing homes and townhomes. "As baby boomers get older and have the income to spend," Craig Zomchek explained, "they will be installing more home elevators for convenience and necessity."

"I spend a lot of time talking on the phone and driving to clients," Zomchek emphasized. "Most of the time I'm just catching up with the client. But that time reassures them that they are dealing with a person that knows the topic and that has your best interests in mind."