Virginia Controls - Non proprietary elevator control systems – 2019 Series

Colley Elevator experience with Virginia Controls – Colley Elevator has a long and rich history with Virginia Controls.  The Chicago area market has a lot of Virginia Controls controllers installed by Automatic Elevator and Barnard Elevator, both companies are now defunct but they sure did install a lot of VC equipment.  We probably have 150-250 Virginia Control controllers in our maintenance portfolio. Everyone we have interacted with at the company over the years have been great!

Brief history of the company[age, ownership, location, other companies attached, etc.] Virginia Controls, Inc. (VCI) was founded in 1967. Since the company was founded we have had only 3 owners and now VCI is under the ownership of Fred Landon. Fred Landon just recently celebrated 29 years of ownership of VCI in January 2019. VCI is located in Richmond, VA and has been since the company was founded. VCI remains one of the only privately and locally owned controller companies in the industry.

What is the company’s philosophy on non-proprietary technology? VCI views non-proprietary as a product that can be maintained, serviced, and repaired by any journeyman elevator mechanic. We also believe that parts and tech support should be made available to whichever elevator contractor the end user decides will maintain this equipment. VCI provides free tech support for the life of our products and has parts available for all elevator contractors preforming service and repairs to our equipment. 

What competitive advantage/strength does your control system have versus the competition? When VCI asks it's very loyal customer base this very question the answers generally come back to 3 majors subjects. The first advantage that our customers mention is our great tech support. While tech support is more service based we believe it is an extension of the product that is very important. Our tech support is handled by our engineers and our in-house quality control experts. The next advantage is product durability and reliability. We feel that this is equally important to the tech support. Lastly, after unveiling our newest Vision 2.0 serial controller, our customers have been giving great feedback on how much easier and quicker our product is to install. This feedback comes after the recent release and install of our Vision 2.0 controller system. 

What markets do you service[low rise, mid rise, high rise, material lifts, etc]? While most of the projects that VCI are a part of fall into the low-rise and mid-rise market we are certainly capable of and involved in much more. VCI has a huge presence in the low-rise and hydraulic market but also have a long history of high rise traction work as well as many specialty projects. VCI has been the standard hydraulic controller of choice for many of the hydraulic elevator package companies over the years so that tends to be our largest market. VCI is also often the go-to controller company for special projects such as material lifts, explosion proof, harsh environment, and transit authorities. We are also involved in the ever growing LULA market as well.

What is your controller’s primary platform[PLC, Microprocessor, etc]? Most of VCI's controllers are microprocessor based. VCI also does have a long history with PLC based controllers as well. Currently we do still offer both options to make sure we best meet our customer's needs.

What do you like most about the Chicago market? VCI has a very long history in the Chicago market and very much enjoys the people and relationships that come with this market. It is also a great market in our eyes due to the variety that the market offers. This fits well with VCI as we offer products to fill the needs of this very diverse market.

What challenges do you have in the Chicago market? VCI's largest hurdle with the Chicago market is probably being able to stay in front of the market as it changes and grows. Over the last few years VCI has become even more involved in this market and we continue to work on this every year.

What are some marquis, challenging or fun projects you have done in the national market and more importantly the Chicago market? VCI's marquis jobs really stretch all over the board. Some of our more notable projects include LAX Airport, New York City Housing Authority, Kennedy Space Center, World Trade Center Transportation Hub and many transit authorities all over the country. VCI has also been part of many Government projects in and out of this country. The project that stands out most for VCI in Chicago is the original Marshall Field's building in Downtown Chicago. While this project is a bit dated now it is still a project that VCI recalls quite well and was a large part of VCI's history in Chicago.

What is on the horizon for the company? VCI is currently in the process of releasing our latest controller system to the market known as Vision 2.0! Vision 2.0 is VCI's second generation serial controller which is a blend of our first generation serial controller (Vision) along with the wish list items taken from our wide spread customer base. 

If you have any questions or would like additional information feel free to contact me at CraigZ@colleyelevator.com or 630-766-7230 ext. 107.

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