Russians may face problems replacing elevators during major repairs

Those who save money for capital repairs on special accounts may not have enough money

Import substitution in the construction industry is not going as fast as we would like, but experts agree: the production and installation of elevators in the country as a whole is proceeding normally. However, there are a number of nuances. For example, many Russians waiting for the overhaul of their homes may face the problem of lack of money to replace them.

About 40,000 elevators can be used for replacement and new construction in Russia in 2023 – this was told during the round table held on February 1, the executive director of the National Elevator Union, Petr Kharlamov.

“Today, there is no reason to fear that our industry is about to come to a standstill. Together we are discussing new deliveries from friendly countries or import substitution, many positions are still available. Globally, the issue of microelectronics needs to be addressed, although it is not critical for an elevator – in aviation or space, these things are more important. So I see no reason to be alarmed,” Kharlamov said.

He added that, according to the Territorial Development Fund (FDT), in 2022, more than 14,000 elevators worth 45 billion rubles were contracted. This is 20% less than a year earlier. Kharlamov clarified that even fewer auctions were held – up to 10 thousand.

According to the deputy of the State Duma of the Russian Federation Svetlana Razvorotneva, the elevator industry has shown that it can provide for itself independently and without sanctions.

– This year, the commissioning of housing was a record, and we managed without problems with the supply of elevators. The domestic manufacturer is coping, – Razvorotneva is sure. — The problem of replacing elevators in old buildings is much more acute: by February 2025, the plans are to replace a very large number of elevators, and all this as part of a major overhaul. By 2025, according to the technical regulations of the EAEU, it is necessary to replace elevators that have worked for more than a quarter of a century. There are almost a hundred thousand of them. And here there is a nuance: according to preliminary calculations, about 41 thousand elevators should be replaced in houses that save money on special accounts. They do not have the funds for this, and the possibilities for borrowing money are now limited. How to solve the problem is not yet clear. Those who save up for major repairs in the “common pot” found themselves in a more advantageous position. An elevator is one of the most expensive items during a major overhaul. We are discussing options on how to make elevators cheaper: for example, to exempt manufacturers of works and overhaul services from VAT. But there is still much to be discussed.

A difficult point that requires increased attention is the safety of elevators and the risk of accidents. There are two main factors here: human (unscrupulous workers) and violation of the rules of operation. Aleksey Zakharov, first vice president of the National Elevator Union, says that since the introduction of rules for the maintenance and use of elevators in 2017, the number of accidents has declined. The peak was recorded in 2018, further – less.

— Since 2018, we have had a steady trend towards a decrease in the number of elevator accidents. Most of the accidents are due to operational problems, when inspection work was not carried out in a timely manner, so it is in our power to prevent such accidents in a timely manner. The Unified Elevator Analytical System has been monitoring the elevators that were put into operation in the Russian Federation all these years, and we had the opportunity to track everything: the dynamics of changes, the quality of elevators and the number of problems. Last year we put more elevators into operation than ever before, the year was “fruitful”; but this year we expect the rate to slow down by no more than 14-16%. Despite the fact that our industry is in need of modernization, import substitution should go more vigorously next year.

Published in the newspaper “Moskovsky Komsomolets” No. 28963 dated February 2, 2023

Newspaper headline:
Russian elevators – in limbo