About Otis

The lift has been around since the dawn of civilisation. But it only became a safe, reliable means of transportation in 1852 – the year Elisha Otis invented the lift safety brake. His invention would give rise to the modern city and forever change how we live.

Our history includes a string of industry firsts that have steadily improved lift performance, enriched the passenger experience and allowed architects to design buildings in entirely new ways.

The gearless traction machine overcame previous height limits. Double-deck lifts increased the amount of rentable space in a building. Automatic lifts eliminated the need for a human attendant. Computerised controllers cut travel time. Our flexible steel belts last twice as long as steel ropes. And our remote lift monitoring technology represented one of the first uses of big data and predictive analytics to improve performance.