‘Picking up speed’: ATTA Elevators opens new local HQ

EAST ST. PAUL — ATTA Elevators Corp. is going up.

In 2024, the Ontario-based full-service elevator and escalator company recruited Vince Levenec to lead its Manitoba branch. In its first 52 weeks, the branch more than tripled the amount of business Levenec had projected for the year.

The first job was hard to get, said the lifelong Manitoban, who’s been in the industry for more than 20 years. He was a one-man operation in charge of both sales and the technical work.

“Once we got that first one in the bag, it just took off,” Levenec said.

Now the branch employs 10 people, including eight technicians. Last week, Levenec got the keys to ATTA’s new Manitoba headquarters: a 4,800-square-foot warehouse in East St. Paul. The space gives the branch room to grow, he said.

There are three phases in the life of an elevator: construction, maintenance and modernization.

Levenec is proud to say ATTA does maintenance work for the Canadian Museum for Human Rights and his branch is about to embark on a significant modernization project at the HSC Children’s Hospital.

“I love the industry,” he said. “My favourite part is … the troubleshooting. Overtime calls — I have no problems going out at two in the morning. I guess there’s a rush to it.”

Levenec is mostly off the tools these days, liaising with customers and growing the branch, but assists his technicians as needed.

The four largest original equipment manufacturers in the industry are Otis Elevator Co., Schindler Group, TK Elevators and Kone Corp. Levenec has worked in various positions at two of them, doing construction, modernization and service. He’s also worked as a certified inspector for the province of Manitoba.

He was attracted to becoming an operator for ATTA because of the company’s commitment to local ownership (every operator is a shareholder), open communication and great service.

“This is what ATTA Elevators is about: it’s about communication and about taking care of the customer, and then also taking care of the employees,” Levenec said.

The company must be doing something right. Since entrepreneur and former Bay Street accountant Mark Attanasio started the company in Concord, Ont., in 2020, it has grown to include 23 offices across Canada and the United States.

The company employs 500 people, around 300 of whom joined the company in the last two years alone.

ATTA approached Levenec about opening the Manitoba branch after consulting with industry experts in the province, said Louis Sideris, vice-president of customer experience.

“I was told … Vince would make a really good fit because he’s customer-focused and had a real passion for elevators,” he said.

Sideris is based in Concord and was the first person Attanasio hired when he started the business.

“Everybody uses an elevator but not everyone knows what happens behind the curtain,” Sideris said. “My ownership … wanted to disrupt an industry and honed in on elevators in particular.”

Like Levenec, Sideris believes the company’s emphasis on local ownership and customer service sets it apart.

The company also installs non-proprietary equipment, Sideris said, meaning customers aren’t beholden to ATTA should something need repair.

Levenec, who lives in Stonewall (where he and his family own and operate Flicks Cinema), is eager to take ATTA’s Manitoba office to the next level.

“All I see is it just picking up speed,” he said.

There are currently more than 5,000 active devices in Manitoba that transport people or freight between levels, a provincial spokesperson said: 4,105 passenger elevators, 316 freight elevators, 928 accessibility lifts and 113 escalators.

aaron.epp@freepress.mb.ca