Elevator Service Inc.

A New Paradigm for Premier Elevator Service

A Family of Local Partners Delivering National-Scale Service and Support

What began over 30 years ago as a small, family-owned elevator company in Grand Rapids, Michigan, has transformed into one of the nation’s most robust networks of premier elevator service partners for commercial properties.

This network, now known as Elevator Services Inc. (ESI), has been deliberate in its expansion through strategic acquisitions, which have enabled it to operate with a nimbleness that its larger competitors simply cannot match

 

ESI’s growth strategy has effectively redefined its identity, with its leadership viewing it more as a conglomerate that has coalesced around a unified service.

Chief Executive Officer Jason Vallee explains this structure well, saying, “The nice thing about how our company is structured is that we’re a family of independent elevator companies where all of the presidents of the individual companies have full autonomy.”

The company’s operational philosophy follows a brilliant theme of sensible centralization, where core functions like safety are standardized while customer-facing operations remain local and personal.

To be specific, the presidents of each local business run their operations as they see fit, while a centralized “platform team” provides crucial support in technology and process.

Additionally, separate from its own network, ESI maintains strong relationships with some of the most well-known and cutting-edge companies in the elevator industry.

Back-end management support from innovative names like Lift AI and durable hardware from reliable manufacturers, such as G&R Customer Elevator Cabs, has been a driving force behind ESI’s high-quality services.

This incredible support, in combination with ESI’s on-the-ground execution, is why its leaders have expressed that the company has had its best year of business since its founding.

As demonstrated by its journey, success for ESI is about more than just expanding its footprint; it’s about becoming a nationwide industry leader without ever sacrificing the local, personal touch that its clients rely on.

Adapting to a Shifting Commercial Landscape

ESI’s unique operational model allows it to be exceptionally nimble, adapting quickly to market changes, which inherently highlights the shortcomings of the elevator industry’s conventional corporate structure.

This is rather fortunate for the companies in the commercial real estate sector, which ESI predominantly serves, as the company is well-positioned to effectively address some of the most persistent challenges in the sector.

“Our commercial real estate clients face really high financing costs when they want to upgrade equipment; it’s pretty expensive to fix old equipment, and those costs have caused a lot of those projects to be put on hold or even be canceled altogether,” Vallee explains.

While major manufacturers may pressure clients to modernize, ESI offers a critical alternative: the willingness and expertise to service older equipment that may be past its useful life.

As a service-based business, rather than a manufacturer, ESI can easily pivot to best serve its customers, avoiding supply chain issues or other challenges that might hinder a less agile company.

“We offer a wide range of maintenance-only services, which would be things like oil and grease services, all the way up to full maintenance with 24-hour callback response time. So, we’re pretty flexible as far as, you know, what type of maintenance we sell our clients,” Vallee states.

In this regard, ESI’s playbook is remarkably consistent, focusing on meeting contractual requirements while maintaining a deep connection to the communities it serves.

ESI’s leaders are adamant about preserving the company’s integrity above all else, ensuring that whatever the company sells, it executes in a way that serves the customer best.

For example, one of the main principles behind the company’s service flexibility is to ensure that clients can reliably select a plan that fits their operating budgets.

 

Cultivating Talent and a Communicative Mindset

ESI’s flexibility also extends to the pressing issue of under-resourced building engineers and property managers, who are now often responsible for managing multiple properties.

ESI tackles this issue in a very straightforward manner. “Communicating with tenants and all those things can become challenging. So one of the ways we overcome that is by intentionally overstaffing our businesses,” Vallee says.

This strategy prioritizes long-term growth over short-term profits. Being overstaffed allows the company to differentiate from a service perspective, which is why it has scaled so rapidly.

This counterintuitive approach empowers ESI to deliver superior service, with its technicians and customer service teams having the capacity to over-communicate and provide timely, reliable updates to clients.

In one notable example, ESI strategically entered the Fort Wayne, Indiana, market by overstaffing a project in a building that did not require a full-time resident mechanic.

Having more resources than needed not only ensured a seamless project but also earned the client’s trust, leading to further business and the establishment of a thriving local office.

ESI’s approach to leadership and talent development is built on the same principle of long-term investment.

Many of the company’s presidents are active members of the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA), which facilitates a valuable exchange of information that often yields greater benefits in the future.

“Our local teams are very active in BOMA, and not just for membership but also being on some of the boards as well. It gives us an opportunity to see what’s trending in the commercial real estate business as well as an idea where we can help,” explains President Brett McCay.

By always having qualified elevator inspectors on staff and staying current with the latest codes and regulations, ESI is able to react to any opportunities that arise the moment they do.

This investment in people also applies to the company’s field technicians, as ESI continues to operate maintenance apprenticeship programs —a practice that many competitors have discontinued.

Lastly, ESI also promotes diversity, equity, and inclusion, aligning its practices with the principles of the IUEC.

“Being a multi-regional independent elevator service company gives us diversity in our people. We’re in so many different markets and serve communities with different demographics, so we make it a priority to reflect that diversity in the workforce and in our leadership,” says Director of Marketing Abby Thebeau.

Thebeau also notes that because of its diversity of clientele, ESI also centers itself around engaging in the different communities it serves, as it allows the company “to build a stronger, more inclusive pipeline for the next generation of elevator professionals.”

Sensible Centralization and Partnerships for a Unified Future

In an industry where new technologies, such as AI and smart building systems, are constantly emerging, ESI’s focus on innovation centers on practicality.

Rather than chasing trends, the company prioritizes adopting tools that are reliable and have a high impact on improving the customer experience. This approach is evident in its ongoing ERP implementation.

“When we do acquisitions, each company we acquire usually has a different legacy system. So, we’re going through a process right now where we’re streamlining that and bringing them all into the same system where we can feed all of that data to our clients via a customer-facing portal,” Vallee states.

This portal will provide clients with direct access to all their building’s equipment data, enabling them to view uptime and callbacks, as well as pay invoices online.

However, ESI is not a software development company, and as such, it partners with experts to build these high-value tools. In fact, when selecting technology and equipment partners, ESI is equally deliberate in its approach.

“For the products that we use, we only install non-proprietary, universally serviceable products. That way, when we put something in, we put in products that have engineering support for any vendor that might service, whether it’s us or someone else down the road,” McCay clarifies.

This guarantees that once a client has invested with ESI, they have the flexibility to choose any other service provider down the road, as any vendor will be able to service the equipment.

Interestingly enough, one of the biggest challenges ESI faces is a result of its own success: marketing itself as a unified company.

“We’re a collection of independents, and we’ve become a pretty big company just via our acquisition strategy. We’re now a fairly large elevator company. The problem is, from a marketing perspective, it’s somewhat challenging to tell the story of how big we actually are because all of the companies are individually branded and named in each market,” Vallee says.

Because of this, clients with buildings in multiple cities may not realize they can partner with ESI as a single vendor.

To overcome this, ESI’s leadership acknowledges the need for greater marketing and is working to promote its business model.

However, at the same time, they are resisting the temptation to centralize everything within the company.

The company follows a philosophy of “sensible centralization,” unifying what matters most—like safety programs and their new ERP system—while deliberately keeping customer-facing functions, like their local call centers, decentralized.

This ensures that customers can always call their local office and speak with someone they are familiar with.

This hybrid approach is what makes ESI a true disruptor in the industry, and it is the fuel that drives its growth, allowing it to consistently deliver better, faster service to its clients while challenging the status quo.

One thing is certain: Elevator Service Inc.’s unique balance of local autonomy and national-scale support will continue to change how clients view their service partners, carrying this stellar company straight to the top.

At a Glance

Who : Elevator Service Inc. (ESI)

What : One of the nation’s fastest-growing elevator service networks

Where : Headquartered in Grand Rapids, Michigan, ESI operates across multiple regions through a growing network of independent local companies

Website :  https://esigr.com/