Atlas Schindler Invests 100 Million BRL in Building a Testing Tower and a Research and Development Center in Londrina, Expected to Generate 250 Direct Jobs

Atlas Schindler Is Making Million-Dollar Investments in the Development of a Test Tower and a R&D Center in Londrina – PR. The Company Estimates That 250 Direct Jobs Will Be Created, Focusing on Local Labor.

The elevator manufacturer Atlas Schindler will invest R$ 100 million in the construction of a test tower and an R&D center in Londrina, generating hundreds of new direct jobs. The project is set to commence in the second half of this year. The new facility will be installed at the company’s factory in Londrina, in Northern Paraná, and will serve the entire Latin America. Being the second largest of the six test bases of the brand worldwide, only behind the center in China.

New R&D Center of Atlas Schindler Will Have 10,000 m²

The estimate is that by 2024, the entire testing and research structure from São Paulo will be transferred from the brand in the country, which has been operating in Londrina for about 24 years. The new research and development center promises to generate up to 250 direct jobs when it becomes operational. In the state, the new center will encompass 10,000 m², taking into account the 150-meter high tower and laboratories.

In total, there will be 17 shafts for simultaneous elevator testing. The current tower in the Interlagos neighborhood of São Paulo has half the height of the structure that will be built in the city of Londrina. In operation for about 50 years, the structure in SP has only 4 testing shafts, occupying about 3,000 square meters.

The Atlas Schindler Center, in addition to addressing the space limitation for testing in SP, will allow the company to expand the development of new technologies to meet the demands not only of the Brazilian market but also of other nearby markets. According to Patrick Gastaldin, director of Research and Development of Atlas Schindler for the Americas, the new investment in Londrina, besides generating many jobs, will test elevators that are safer and faster, meeting the demand of increasingly taller buildings that are connected to their users.

Atlas Schindler’s Research and Development Center Will Test Elevators with Speeds of Up to 10 Meters Per Second

The Londrina center, which promises to generate jobs and income for Paraná, will have the capacity to test faster elevators, with speeds of up to 10 meters per second. The elevators tested on-site will be capable of serving buildings of up to 150 floors, in line with the trend of high-rise buildings.

To put things in perspective, the tallest building in the world, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, has 160 floors, while the tallest building in Brazil has 77 floors. According to Gastaldin, the shafts will have a height of 120 meters, which is a sufficient distance to test elevators of this caliber.

Among the technologies that will be evaluated through the investments, the Atlas Schindler director mentions the connectivity of elevators and new safety devices. According to Gastaldin, it is currently possible to remotely monitor the conditions of the elevator through connectivity. Thus, it is possible to detect the need for maintenance even before the customer contacts the company.

Company Offers Learning Opportunities for Young Graduates

Investments in the new center in PR, in addition to job creation, aim to enhance the training of engineers and technicians. In February, the company launched a new program with ten openings for engineering trainees from the region.

Several students from the Federal Technological University of Paraná (UTFPR), State University of Londrina (UEL), among other institutions, participated in the program, and the goal is to establish new partnerships.

The director emphasizes that the trainee program is already part of the strategy to transfer the research center to Londrina. The objective is to aid in training engineers for global-level performance with the company’s technologies and investments.