This is a list of elevator fixtures that have been used by Sabiem, a defunct elevator manufacturer from Bologna, Italy that has been acquired by Kone in 1985.
1950s to 1960s
Black buttons
Sabied used non-illuminating black buttons from the 1950s to the late 1960s. These buttons were also used in very early Orona elevators (branded as "Orona Sabiem") in the late 1960s[1], due to license agreement with Sabiem[2]. However, some of these buttons were later replaced into illuminating ones in the 1980s by Sabiem, or in the 1990s or 2000s by third-party companies.
Hall stations/floor indicators, hall lanterns and car floor indicators
The analog floor indicators usually have green and often yellowish, red or orange illuminated numbers, and are mostly found above the inside doors.
On some smaller and freight elevators with manual doors, the inside indicators are usually mounted vertically above the button panel. Indicator on hall stations usually have an illuminating "COMING" word which would light up when the call button is pressed.
1970s
Buttons
In the 1970s, Sabiem used round illuminating plastic buttons, but some of these buttons were replaced in the 1990s.
Hall Station and Car Floor Indicator
In the 1970s, Sabiem revised their analog floor indicators, making them black square (resembling mahjong tiles) and lights up in green, but some of them are white and lights up in yellow. These analog indicators are mostly located above the elevator doors. Some of the hall stations often have illuminating "COMING" word which lights up when the call button is pressed, but this has mostly been replaced with an illuminating call button[3]. On some smaller elevators, the outside indicators are usually mounted vertically on the hall stations, similar to those found in Sabiem elevators installed in the 1960s.
1980s
Sabiem continued using their 1970s illuminating buttons and indicators with minor changes until around the mid 1980s. Some of the analog indicators now illuminated in yellow orange and the lenses are now white instead of black.
Later, Sabiem started using rounded square illuminating buttons with black frame and electronic floor indicators. They are used in two elevator types; roped hydraulic and traction (mostly bottom-drive).
Some elevators in old Hong Kong public housing blocks and car park buildings (both were built by either Hong Kong Housing Authority or Hong Kong Housing Society) in the early 1980s are using Dewhurst buttons, mostly the US81 series buttons.
1990s (Hong Kong)
In the late 1990s, Shan On Engineering, Sabiem's former distributor in Hong Kong, installed several Kone-based "Sabiem" elevators with Kone Traffic Master System controllers in some public housing blocks. These elevators typically use Dewhurst fixtures like US81 Braille push buttons, UL200 "Hidden Legends" analogue floor indicators and digital segmented indicators.
2000s-2017 (Hong Kong)
During the 2000s and 2010s, Shan On Engineering modernized some of the existing 1960s-1970s Sabiem elevators in Hong Kong with fixtures made by Tung Da Electric from Taiwan[4][5]. These modernizations would always carry the "SABIEM" name on the car stations; this is because Shan On Engineering wanted to preserve the brand even though Sabiem had already ceased operation. This arrangement continued until 2017 when Shan On Engineering was acquired by Kone and became a subsidiary of Kone Corporation and managed by Kone Hong Kong.
There are also "modern day" Sabiem elevators in Hong Kong which uses Dewhurst buttons (typically the US90-15 and US91-15 series) and even Everbright buttons. However, it was reported that some of these Everbright buttons were replaced with Dewhurst buttons due to durability reasons.
2018 onwards (Hong Kong)
Nowadays, Shan On Engineering (which already being a subsidiary of Kone Corporation) installs Kone MiniSpace or modernize the elevators with the Kone ReGenerate 200, ReGenerate 400, and ReGenerate 800 modernization solutions and branded as "Kone" rather than "Sabiem". They using the Dewhurst buttons rather than the Everbright buttons that Kone Hong Kong also used.
Notes and references
- ↑ Botoneras - Ascensores Polo (Archived version)
- ↑ Nuestra Historia - Orona (Archived version) (Spanish)
- ↑ 旺角太子金發大廈Sabiem升降機
- ↑ Car Operating Panel
- ↑ 旺角優酒店Sabiem升降機 - YouTube