On the Job: Delaware Elevator Pt. 1

Elevators are everywhere and some may take them for granted, until they’re out of service, and we have to climb all those stairs. This week “On the Job” 47 ABC’s Michelle Mackonochie shows us what goes into making and installing them.

Delaware elevator not only provides services all around the country, but worldwide.
But as we get a look inside, President Charles Meeks Jr. says it all started right here on Delmarva. Meeks says his grandfather started the business in the Wilmington area. Not too long after, Meeks father started Delaware elevator in Salisbury in 1946. What started out as about 40 employees, is now 250 employees.

First, we headed to the offices to learn about the companies elevator plans, which are laid out on computer programs. Engineering coordinator and project manager Bill Green says all plans are different but some that they work on can take years.

Green says their job includes working with consultants, engineers, and architects on specific jobs. Once the job has gone through sales, the estimating department will receive it and then they can generate drawings specific to the project.

Next we headed over to the companies training center to get a close up look at one of their actual elevators. David Smarte, director of Delaware Elevator says, before you start building there’s extensive training that has to come first. Just to get someone from an apprentice level to a mechanic takes 4 years.

After seeing one up close, we headed over to the building where all the parts are made! Walt Smakulski is the general manager of the manufacturing in the building and he says “We make everything that’s behind that box you ride in, that button that you press in and the doors that you walk through, so we make everything that makes it go up and down. There’s lots of different ways to do that, there’s cables or hydraulics we do both here.”

Our first task, putting a muffler inside a machine. After that was complete, it was time to practice welding. The idea is to weld two pieces of metal together by making small circles with the machine. Finally we were done.

Next week 47 ABC heads to Ocean City to work on site at a new hotel.