Otis Tangible Resources and Intangible Resources
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Otis is the most well known brand in the industry and their elevators and escalators sell in more than 200 countries around the world. The size and scope of their business is reflected in the following table:
Otis at a Glance
People: Approximately 61 000 employees, with 53 000 outside of the United States
Revenue: US$12.4 billion in 2011, of which 83 per cent was generated outside the United States
Installed Base: Approximately 2.5 million Otis elevators and escalators in operation worldwide
Service Base: More than 1.8 million elevators and escalators serviced worldwide
Countries: Products offered in more than 200 countries and territories
Manufacturing: Major manufacturing facilities in the Americas, Europe and Asia
Engineering and Test Centres: Engineering facilities in the United States, Austria, Brazil, China, Czech Republic, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Korea and Spain. The companys two tallest elevator test towers located in Shibayama, Japan (505 feet/154 meters above ground; 89 feet/27
meters below ground) and Bristol, CT, United States (384 feet/117 meters above ground)
The history of the company highlights their continued growth and also their innovation in the industry. Elisha Otis invented the safety elevator for his employer in 1852. He then went solo and sold three elevators in 1853 for US$300 each. Then sales slumped. No more were sold in 1853 or early 1854. He decided to promote his invention by showing it at the Crystal Palace Exhibition in New York City in May 1854. Sales shot up, and he sold seven in the remainder of 1854 and 15 in 1855, and from there the company was launched.
Otis soon went international and in February 1884, Otis established sales offices in London and Paris by purchasing the American Elevator Company. Some of the early sales provided elevators for the Eiffel Tower, London Underground Railroad, Glasgow Harbour Tunnel, the Kremlin, Balmoral
Castle, Hungarian Royal Palace and offices and apartments throughout Europe. The Otis brothers took over in 1861 and the company was incorporated in 1867. Innovation continued and by 1901 they were able to produce elevators that could go above 90 metres, thereby enabling the skyscraper revolution.
In 1932, towards the end of the Great Depression, Otis started to highlight maintenance as a revenue stream. In 1948 they produced the automatic elevator that did not need an operator, and in 1964 they merged with French firm Ascenseurs. In 1976 Otis was taken over by UTC and operated as a wholly owned