Local Maltese-owned company Panta Lesco Ltd has recently signed a joint venture agreement with Schindler – a major Swiss brand in the elevators and escalators industry worldwide. Locally, this joint venture agreement is the first of its kind in the lifts industry.
The new company, Schindler Services Ltd, which is registered in Malta with a Schindler majority share-holding, is based locally and began operations under Schindler management on 1 August.
As part of its operations, Schindler Services Ltd provides servicing, maintenance, after-sales support, modernisation and the upgrading of existing lifts in line with EU regulations and the pending legislation on lift quality and safety, as set out by the Malta Standardisation Authority.
Schindler SpA chief executive Giuseppe Lupo said this service is being made available to all lifts sold and installed locally, regardless of the brand or manufacturer, and will also include existing lift installations.
Panta Lesco director Albert Attard welcomed this new joint venture as a mark of success for the Panta Group, having obtained the recognition and trust of Schindler to work together as service partners and build on the strong foundation and customer base in the lifts industry, that Panta Lesco has established over the years.
To date, Panta Lesco has installed over 600 lifts and 60 escalators in Malta, including strategic and prestigious sites and clients such as The Malta International Airport, The Mater Dei Hospital, Portomaso, The Hilton Hotel, The Central Bank and The Plaza – the first commercial centre installation on the island – and many more.
Panta Lesco’s association with Schindler dates back to 1987, with its first lift installation in Malta at the Treasury in Valletta.
Since then, the company has always been at the forefront of the local lifts industry, having been the first local lifts company to achieve ISO 9001:2000 in July 2002 and the only local lifts company to obtain CE marking certification from the notified body, Det Norske Veritas Italia Srl.
It is, moreover, through this new joint venture that Panta Lesco seeks to move forward in this continuously changing technological environment , integrating and transferring at the local level Schindler’s technical concepts and training programme updates.
More importantly, this joint venture also looks forward to creating more ways of offering more value to Maltese customers, at competitive local market prices, and providing those customers with the opportunity to be part of the Schindler community worldwide.