In 1975, 16-year-old Martin Dumbrell was seeking an apprenticeship either in the printing industry or electrical trades. He was selected as one of 14 apprentices by EPL Elevators Proprietary Limited (acquired by KONE in 1986). It was 50 years ago, but Martin remembers his first day vividly.
“I was assigned to work in service together with an experienced tradesman. There we were in a building in downtown Sydney with an elevator probably from the 1930s, with very old, simple technology – big switches and a big motor. The machine room was only high enough to accommodate the motor, so you had to either crawl around in it or walk stooped over. It made a lot of noise, with electrical sparks jumping out – it was nothing like the modern equipment we have these days. It was terrifying.” Martin recalls.
“The next building was from the 1960s with six elevators. The control cabinets were about two meters high and wide, and about a meter deep – full of equipment. It was hot, noisy, and dusty. I thought ‘I’ve got four years to learn all this. I’m so screwed and I’m never going to be a tradesman.’”
When Martin returned home, his mom asked how the day went. “I told her it was great but it's a lot and I don't know if I'll be able to do it. And she said, ‘Just take it a day at a time.’ So, I did. And here we are, 50 years later.”
Training new apprentices
During the apprenticeship, Martin worked in service, installation, in the factory’s drawing office, and as part of the technical help desk team, giving him an in-depth understanding of the industry. To continue his learning journey, he spent the next four years doing breakdown callouts; for example, fixing broken elevators and helping people get out of stuck elevators.
“I was actually pretty good at that, and so our training manager got me involved in doing inductions for our new apprentices. I’d come in and talk to them about the technology, and soon discovered that it was no easy job. We were changing from electromechanical elevators to electronic ones, and this was difficult to teach and for them to grasp. I suggested we should create a course on this – and then of course ended up being the person who wrote it,” Martin laughs.
This first led to a supervisor position, and then Martin was offered a full-time job training apprentices for eight years.
Towards paperless maintenance in Australia and Asia
In 2004, Martin got an exciting new task of rolling out the global KONE Model in Australia and New Zealand. This was basically the backend system, controlling everything from the sale of the product, the contract, ordering, delivery, installation, maintenance, and eventually the modernization.
“It included the KONE Field Mobility System, which helped reduce the amount of paperwork our technicians had to do. Back then, it was a separate device including maintenance instructions, what jobs they had to do, information on breakdown callouts and they could report back through the tool rather than on paper. Today our technicians have an advanced application on their own mobile phones.” Martin tells.
After the rollout was completed, Martin was given the global role to launch the KONE Model in Asia. This journey took him to China, which turned out to be one of the most memorable times of his long KONE career.
“I saw and experienced a lot of China and became close friends with many of our colleagues there. It was super interesting to work in a completely different culture, both seeing the way they did things and experiencing the way they thought and lived.”
Introducing the Field Mobility System more widely in Asia was a huge improvement for our field employees and for the company.
“Rather than having to wait for weeks, we got the information in real time. This helped maintenance technicians see if they were well on time or behind with their tasks,” Martin explains. “We could then track the figures and essentially improve our maintenance. It would also send an email to the customer to let them know the maintenance was done, improving our customer service by far.”
From the first computers and test lamps to higher, more sustainable buildings
Martin has seen interesting changes in the industry.
“Back in the day, elevators were always judged on technology. It was all about speed. We had the fastest elevators in Australia – for example in the Sydney Tower, which was completed in 1981, their top speed was 14 meters per second,” Martin explains. “Sustainability and aesthetics became more of a thing later, and KONE was smart to develop a range of interior finishes that no one else had, which allowed people in the industry to recognize a KONE elevator without ever having to see a name tag on it.”
The nature of work has of course also changed a lot over 50 years, mostly because of digitalization.
“We used to have three computers in the office, and you had to book a slot to use them maybe once a month,” Martin recalls. “But also out in the field, we used to have a thing called a test lamp to test our elevators. It was basically a stick with a light globe and a wire on it, and you’d put one wire on one side of the circuit and the stick with the light on the other side of the circuit and if the light lit up, it was good. If it didn’t, there was a problem. These days you just connect your mobile phone to the elevator and look through the KONE 24/7 connected services data.”
Martin is excited to see what the future will bring to the world of elevators.
“I think there will be more higher buildings, and even more focus on sustainability. Everybody is waiting for the anti-gravity elevator where we don’t need ropes and counterweights. Maybe there will be a linear motor on the side of the elevator shaft that drags the elevator up, maybe magnetic monopoles,” he envisions.
Secret behind an exciting 50-year career
Although Martin thought he wouldn’t make it past the first day, he has stayed with the company for 50 amazing years.
“When someone asks me why, I usually say something flippant like ‘I forgot to leave’”, Martin laughs. “The challenges kept me going – being given the opportunity to do different things and work in different roles."
Having KONE’s support along the way has also been important, during professional challenges but also personal ones.
“A bit over two years ago, I was diagnosed with prostate cancer. I was lucky to have caught it early. KONE was very supportive during this period, giving me the time I needed for the operation and the recovery, and the gradual return to work. The support has always been there and the recognition of service, which I really appreciate.”
With such an exciting KONE career behind, we’re curious to find out what wise words Martin has for us all. What’s his secret?
“Say yes. Don’t just sit there and wonder what could be – if an opportunity comes along, take it. Be ready to put in the work and try to be the best at everything you do, but be reasonable with your goals,” Martin says. “And learn continuously. I love reading, I think it’s a fantastic way to learn and grow.”
While Martin has a big family, including his three daughters and wife, he has something a bit smaller in mind for celebrating his anniversary at KONE than organizing a big family gathering for 30+ people.
“It’s my lovely wife’s birthday on the same day, so I will celebrate by taking her out for dinner,” Martin reveals.