If you’ve ever waited for an elevator that feels just a little off—maybe the buttons stick, the doors close too fast, or the fit of a new component is slightly wrong for your building’s system—you’ve probably wondered: Can elevator parts be customized? As a third-generation elevator parts supplier with 22 years on the job, I get this question all the time. It doesn’t matter if you’re a property manager in a 10-story office building in Chicago, a maintenance tech in a small hotel in rural Ohio, or a retrofitter working on a historic apartment complex in Boston. The short answer is yes, but the longer answer is one I’ve had to refine hundreds of times over the years: customization isn’t a one-size-fits-all process, and it’s not for every part. Let me walk you through what that looks like, because too many people still think elevator parts are just generic, off-the-shelf items plopped into any lift. Elevator Part
When I started in this business back in 2001, my dad ran the shop out of a 1,200-square-foot garage in Toledo, Ohio. Back then, most parts were made to a standard from the 1970s, and if you needed something different for your elevator, you were out of luck. “Elevators are like people,” he’d say, wiping grease off his workbench. “Each one has its own quirks.” That lesson stuck with me, and it’s why we invested in a CNC machine and a team of in-house engineers in 2010—even when other suppliers said it was a waste of money. Those machines don’t just cut steel; they let us adjust dimensions, materials, and even finish to match exactly what a customer needs.
Let’s start with the parts that almost always work with customization, because that’s where most of our business comes from. Take landing door brackets, for example. When a building is retrofitted from an old hydraulic elevator to a modern traction lift, the wall cutouts where the doors sit are almost never exactly the standard size. A generic bracket won’t line up right, which means doors might not close smoothly, or worst case, they could become a safety hazard. A few years back, we worked with a historic building in New Orleans where the original elevator was installed in 1927. The stone around the door openings was so uneven that even the closest standard bracket we could find was off by 3/8 of an inch. Our engineers adjusted the bracket’s mounting flanges, created a custom drill pattern to match the irregular stone, and used a marine-grade aluminum that could handle the humid, salty air without rusting. That part didn’t exist before we made it, and the building’s maintenance team still calls it “the bracket that saved their retrofit.” It’s moments like that that make the job worth it.
Another common customized part is operator panels. A lot of old elevators have panels with tiny buttons that are hard for elderly or disabled people to use, or panels that don’t match the interior design of a luxury hotel or condo. We’ve made panels with larger, braille buttons, custom LED backlighting in blue or gold to match a building’s decor, and even panels with engraved logos for corporate clients. Last year, a boutique hotel in Aspen reached out because their elevator panels were scratch-prone and clashed with their dark wood interiors. We swapped the standard plastic surface for brushed stainless steel, matched the panel’s shape to their existing wood trim, and even added small, subtle LED lights around each button that glow when pressed—no more fumbling for buttons in the dim lobby at night. That’s customization that doesn’t just work; it enhances the building’s function and style.
But here’s the thing: not all elevator parts should be customized. Some components are safety-critical, designed to strict global standards (ISO 14798, ASME A17.1, for those who care about the numbers) to ensure they work under extreme conditions. Brake pads, for example, can’t be just any custom material. If you make brake pads with a softer compound to reduce noise, they might wear out too fast, leading to brake failure over time. We learned that lesson the hard way in 2012, when a maintenance tech asked us to make custom brake pads for an old elevator that was making a loud squeak every time it stopped. We tried a softer material, but within six months, the pads were down to the backing plate, and the elevator was out of service for a day while we rushed to replace them. That mistake taught us a key rule: for safety-critical parts, customization only works if it’s done within the parameters set by those standards. We still make custom adjustments for brake pads—like adjusting their thickness to fit an older brake housing that’s slightly worn—but we never change the friction compound or material, because that’s non-negotiable for safety.
So, how does the customization process actually work, from the time a customer calls us to when the part is installed? It starts with a conversation, not an order. A customer might say, “I need a door bracket that fits this wall opening,” and our first question isn’t, “How many do you want?” It’s, “Can you send us measurements of the wall, photos of the opening, and any specs from the original elevator’s manual?” Sometimes, they don’t have those specs—old manuals get lost, or the elevator was installed before anyone kept records. That’s when our team steps in: we’ll send a technician to measure the site ourselves, for no extra cost, because a bad measurement means a bad part. Once we have the specs, our engineers draw up a design, run it through stress tests (to make sure it can handle the weight of the elevator and passengers), and send a 3D rendering to the customer for approval. If they want to adjust something—say, a slightly different finish or a smaller hole—we tweak it, then build a prototype. We test that prototype in our shop for a few weeks before sending it out, just to make sure it works. For small orders (1-5 parts), that whole process takes about two weeks. For larger orders (like 50 custom panels for a new building), it can take 6-8 weeks, but we always communicate timelines clearly so no one is waiting around.
I know some people might wonder if custom parts are more expensive, and the short answer is: sometimes, but not always. For a one-off part that would require a customer to modify their entire elevator to fit a generic part, a custom component can actually save them money. Let’s go back to that historic New Orleans building. The original plan was to cut the stone door openings to fit standard brackets, which would have cost $8,000 in masonry work alone. Our custom bracket cost $2,500, plus we covered the site measurement, so total cost was less than half of the alternative. For repeat orders, too, we keep the design on file, so if a customer needs more parts a year later, we can make them at the same price as a standard part, no extra engineering fees. It’s a balance—we don’t charge custom pricing for every tweak, because we want our customers to come back, not just for one job.
Another thing I get asked about is compatibility. Can custom parts work with different brands of elevators? The answer is yes, as long as we plan for it. Elevator parts are often branded by the original manufacturer (like Otis, Kone, Thyssenkrupp), but that doesn’t mean they can’t work with another brand. A few years ago, we made custom guide shoes for a residential elevator that was a mix of Otis parts and an old imported lift. The standard guide shoes from either brand didn’t fit the guide rails, so we adjusted the guide shoe’s inner width to match the rail’s exact diameter, even though it was a non-standard size. The elevator’s maintenance team installed it without any issues, and it’s been running smoothly for four years now. The key here is working with customers to share all the details, even if the elevator is a jumble of different parts—no detail is too small when it comes to making a part that works.
Of course, there are limits to what we can customize. We can’t make a custom elevator motor that’s more powerful than the space in the machine room allows, for example, or a custom car frame that exceeds the building’s weight limit. Those are structural and space constraints that we have to work within, and we’ll always tell a customer if their request isn’t feasible, instead of trying to cut corners to make it happen. Our reputation is built on parts that work, not on taking jobs we can’t deliver on. That’s why we’ve stayed in business for 22 years—we tell customers the truth, even when it’s not what they want to hear right away.
I think a lot of the misconception about elevator parts being generic comes from the modern push for mass production. Big suppliers make thousands of identical parts every day, which keeps prices low for standard replacements. But for older buildings, retrofits, or any project that requires a perfect fit, customization isn’t a luxury—it’s a necessity. Last month, I got an email from a property manager in Detroit who has a 12-story building with three 1960s hydraulic elevators. The buttons on the control panel are so faded that tenants can’t tell which button goes to which floor, and the standard panels we have on file for that model are no longer available. Our team designed a custom panel with high-contrast black buttons on a white background, raised edges so tenants can feel the floor number, and even added small numbers in 2-inch font for visually impaired tenants. The property manager ordered three panels, and said that within a week, tenants were calling to say how much easier the elevators are to use. That’s the kind of impact custom parts have—they don’t just fix a broken part, they improve the daily experience for everyone who uses the elevator.
If you’re reading this and you’re dealing with an elevator part that doesn’t fit, or you’re working on a retrofit, historic building, or custom design project, I’d encourage you to reach out. You don’t have to have all the answers—we can walk you through the process, answer your questions, and figure out if customization is the right fit for your needs. We don’t do pushy sales, and we don’t try to sell you something you don’t need. At the end of the day, our job is simple: make elevator parts that work, no matter how unique the elevator is.
Before I wrap this up, I want to share a lesson my dad taught me, back when we were still in that Toledo garage. “A good supplier doesn’t just sell parts,” he said. “They solve problems.” That’s why customization is at the core of what we do. Generic parts work for some jobs, but for the jobs where generic parts fall short, that’s where we come in. Whether you need one custom bracket or 100 custom operator panels, we’re here to help. If you have a project that requires a custom elevator part, don’t hesitate to get in touch to discuss your needs.
Escalator References
- ISO 14798:2018, Cranes – Safety – Lift trucks, part of the global standards framework for material handling equipment, applicable to elevator component safety testing.
- ASME A17.1-2022, Safety Code for Elevators and Escalators, outlining parameters for modifying and customizing elevator components while maintaining compliance.
- National Elevator Industry, Inc. (NEII) 2021 Retrofit Report, detailing the demand for custom components in older building elevator modernization projects.
Weibo Elevator Co., Ltd.
We’re well-known as one of the leading elevator part manufacturers and suppliers in China, specialized in providing high quality custom service for global clients. We warmly welcome you to buy high-grade elevator part at competitive price from our factory.
Address: Dongxiang Road, Nanxun Economic Development District, Huzhou City, Zhejiang Province, China
E-mail: zoey@webstar.net.cn
WebSite: https://www.webstar-elevators.com/
