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Bay State Elevator grows with elevator evolution | MadAddie Marketing

kariann | Saturday August 27, 2016

When guests at the Renaissance Albany Hotel across from the state Capitol take one of the elevators in the lobby up to their rooms, Wes Horth can't help but smile.

That's because Horth is director of business development at Bay State Elevator, a Dalton, Mass., company that modernized old and installed new elevators as part of a $50 million renovation of the former DeWitt Clinton Hotel.

It wasn't an easy job. The hotel, which first opened in 1927, had been vacant and decaying for years until Columbia Development stepped in to restore the landmark building to its former glory with modern updates.

The same can be said for Bay State Elevator, which was founded in 1908 but has been working hard lately to expand and modernize its brand in the Capital Region where it has a large office and customer base.

Horth, a fourth-generation employee who lives in Glenmont and joined the family business in 2011, has been working to raise the company's profile in the Capital Region and throughout its New York and New England territory since taking over business development two years ago.

Bay State has generally kept a low profile as a distributor for German-based ThyssenKrupp elevators, a relationship that gives it a protected geographic territory for new installations.

But Horth has been changing that, pushing the firm to expand its maintenance and refurbishing business beyond its traditional markets and using new marketing techniques to compete against the national elevator installation companies that dominate the local construction scene.

"There's very few companies that can put in an elevator in a building" like the Renaissance, Horth said. "But with the digital age, we're trying to expand our footprint. Last year was a record year for us, and 2016 has been shaping up to be really good as well."

Bay State has been growing its presence on social media and hired the local market research firm MadAddie to help reach construction managers and other potential customers online, including online "elevator pitch" videos for YouTube and new marketing materials that Horth says have gotten him and others at the company out of their comfort zones and in front of new prospects.

"We've built a unique marketing strategy that supports their 100-year-old brand and upholds their incredible reputation," MadAddie CEO Kariann Morris said.

Bay State also won contracts for recent projects by Saratoga Hospital and Wesley Community. The company, Horth said, is on track for a "strong year," although he declined to reveal revenue figures for the company, which has 120 employees in four states.

Horth said he believes the record results are being driven by the local building boom fueled by a surge in new hotels and apartments.

"Construction is a leading indicator on how the local economy is doing, and Albany is a strong market right now," Horth said. "And the elevator is a focal point of a new construction project."

lrulison@timesunion.com518-454-5504@larryrulison

Tags: Marketing Strategy marketing research Marketing Plan elevators