The company was founded in London in 1867 by Joseph Stannah, who had worked as an engineer since the 1820s. Initially a manufacturer of cranes and hoists for transporting ships' cargo, the company began to make hand-powered passenger lifts at the turn of the 20th century. Its first headquarters were on Southwark Bridge Road, before moving to Bankside in the early 20th century. The company remained here until the site was destroyed during the London Blitz. The chairman at the time, Leslie Stannah, built new headquarters at Tiverton Street, Southwark using compensation money awarded to the company. Stannah Lifts moved from London to Andover in 1974, produced its first stairlift in 1975, and began exporting in 1979. From there, it established itself as the leading manufacturer of stairlifts worldwide, as well as Britain's largest lift manufacturer. Subsidiaries were opened in the United States and The Netherlands in 1992, and Slovakia in 2003. The company also purchased distributors in Ireland in 2005, and Norway in 2010. The company produced its 500,000th stairlift in February 2011 during a visit by the Prince of Wales to the Andover headquarters.
Products
Stairlift division
The company's stairlift division manufactures new stairlifts for purchase or rental, as well as reconditioning old units. Five models are produced for both straight, curved and external staircases, with all units run on a rail fitted to the stair tread and powered via a mains-charged battery. The lift is controlled by a control pod or a joystick attached to the arm of the seat, together with a remote controller. All models are fitted with a seatbelt and safety edges, which will stop the lift if an obstruction is encountered. The Solus and Sofia models are also fitted with a seat load sensor, which prevents movement of the lift unless the occupant is safely seated.
Access & Passenger lift division
The company provides a range of passenger and platform lifts. Inclined platform lifts - Stairiser inclined platform lifts are an option if a building cannot accommodate a vertical lift. A Stairiser carries one person over a straight or curved stairway, seated in a wheelchair or on the seat provided on the lift. When the lift is not in use it folds away to leave the stairway free for pedestrian use. Vertical platform lifts - Midilifts are designed to provide an alternative to the stairs for travel up to 12 metres. Four product ranges are available: Lowriser, open platforms for wheelchair users; Midilift SL, standard platform lifts and the Midilift SLplus and Midilift XLplus, their top-of-the-range cabin platform lifts. All Midilifts are supplied either in a skeleton structure or with their own structure-supported enclosure, which can be fitted with either steel or glass panels, or a combination of the two. Passenger lifts - Maxilift 2.0 Range: from 6-13 persons - For low/medium rise and medium use for travel up to 15m. The lift system is either wall-mounted or supported by an independent structure, and is powered by either a conventional lift motor, a hydraulic drive system or a traction motor. The Xtralift range is designed for high-use applications and is available in six standard models for between 17 persons / 1250 kg and 33 persons / 2500 kg. Lifts in this range are fitted within a modular structure and driven by a traction motor.
Service & Goods lift division
The Goodsmaster range of goods lift is produced in a number of sizes, with a maximum capacity of 1500 kg. These are structure-supported systems provided with a load weighing device and alarm, and can be manned or unmanned. Unmanned lifts are controlled by a control panel installed at each floor level, with manned lifts having a panel located in the cabin. The Trolleylift range is of a similar specification, but with a maximum capacity of 300 kg. The Microlift range of dumb waiters has rated capacities of 50 kg and 100 kg, and is available in models designed for restricted headrooms and spaces. This includes a 'double decker' version, incorporating two cars in a single shaft.
Escalator division
The company's escalator division produces escalators and moving walkways, which are available as horizontal or inclined units.
Lift Servicing
Stannah has set up a nationwide network of 11 service branches in the United Kingdom to provide maintenance and repair for thousands of lifts, from all manufacturers. The company currently has more than 360 employees and provides maintenance for over 84,000 lift products nationwide.
Corporate
Since its foundation, the company has remained a family-run business. At present, six fifth-generation members of the family maintain a 100% shareholding in the company. Stannah Lifts was officially incorporated as a Private Limited Company in March 1961. In December 2009, the company reported an annual turnover of £183,426,000 and a profit of £9,671,000.
