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An Interview with His Excellency, Dr. Johannes Schmitt

NUREMBERG - One of the pioneers in elevator construction is the company Schmitt + Sohn, based in Nuremberg. Today Johannes Schmitt and his brother Martin manage the family business with 1,400 employees across Europe, which his great-great-grandfather founded in 1861.

Mr. Schmitt, do you suffer from claustrophobia? Johannes Schmitt (laughs): No, fortunately not. I also don't get dizzy when I go upstairs. But I know that people suffer from it and therefore avoid elevators if possible.

How can elevator designers help these people? Schmitt: We want to take this fear away from people. However, if an elevator is retrofitted in an old building, for example, space is often limited. Here we have to take the dimensions that the building allows for installation. With mirror effects through glass, but also brass and other types of metal, I can give the room a size that it actually doesn't have. I can distract the passengers with color or softly splashing music in the background, as is the case in one of our elevators in the Grand Hotel in Nuremberg. They are effects of relaxation.

Should a lift go down or up as silently as possible? Schmitt: I am of the opinion that the driving experience has to be there. But I don't find out about that just by starting and stopping the vehicle. This also includes noises such as slight shaking and a slight draft of air to round off the driving experience.

Where are most of the elevators?

Schmitt: The greatest density of elevators is in Switzerland. But that has nothing to do with the mountains. I'm not talking about cable cars, but about passenger lifts. That can be summed up in a formula: the higher the standard of living in a country, the more passenger lifts there are - compared to poorer areas - there.

A look back: When his great-great-grandfather Martin Schmitt founded the company in 1861, the first steam-powered elevator was only launched two years earlier in America …

Schmitt: My ancestor started out in Nuremberg on Dörrersgasse as Art and building locksmith started. At that time he made ornate wrought iron bars. An example of his craftsmanship was the end of the choir in the Frauenkirche on the main market. It was not until 1900 that the company began to specialize in a new line of business, elevator construction. In 1890 around 100,000 people lived in Nuremberg; in 1910 there were already around 300,000 inhabitants. With industrialization and the higher buildings springing up like mushrooms, the demand for elevators also grew.

A few years ago you were planning a lift museum in Nuremberg. What happened to the project?

Schmitt: Museums are something beautiful. Nevertheless, we stopped pursuing our plans because our company was more interested in looking into the future than in the past.

Is the elevator business one that will continue into the future?

Schmitt: I'm quite sure of that. We live in a mobile society and it needs means of transport - also up or down. A look at seniors also offers great prospects for our industry. Like parents with strollers and disabled people, they should be able to get anywhere without barriers.

What does the future of your company look like?

Schmitt: I run the family business in the 5th generation. But the 6th generation, my daughter and my son, are already involved in the company.