O&K Escalators

Orenstein & Koppel (O&K) was a German engineering and manufacturing company that began making escalators in the 1980s.
They established an American branch in the early 1990s, based in Newport News, Virginia.
The company was owned by Krupp (one of the companies that would later form ThyssenKrupp), who sold its escalator division to KONE in 1996.

Flat ends

All confirmed examples of this model in North America were installed in 1995-96, however, at least one was actually manufactured years earlier in 1992.

Known installations

  • Redondo Beach LACMTA Metro Green Line Station, Redondo Beach, CA (and possibly other Green Line stations)

  • Buckhead MARTA Station, Atlanta, GA (steel balustrades)

  • Circus Circus Casino, Reno, NV

  • Monterey Bay Aquarium, Monterey, CA

  • Sands Regency Convention Center, Las Vegas, NV

  • Bob's Discount Furniture, Paramus, NJ

  • Dillard's, Southland Mall, Bayou Cane, LA (steel balustrades)

  • Montreal Eaton Centre, Montreal, QC

Rarity Rating: 10/10

Lower landing

RTK-KBS

This is the most common O&K model in North America. Most known examples in North America were installed in Dillard's stores, though some of them have since become other retailers' locations.

Known installations

  • Dillard's, Park Meadows, Lone Tree, CO

  • Dillard's, The Citadel, Colorado Springs, CO

  • Dillard's, North Point Mall, Alpharetta, GA

  • Dillard's, Cottonwood Mall, Albuquerque, NM

  • Dillard's, SouthPark Mall, Strongsville, OH

  • Dillard's, Galleria at Sunset, Henderson, NV

  • Dillard's, Seminole Town Center, Sanford, FL

  • Dillard's, Coastland Center, Naples, FL

  • Dillard's, Pembroke Lakes Mall, Pembroke Pines, FL

  • Dillard's Women, Mall St. Matthews, Louisville, KY

  • Dillard's Women, First Colony Mall, Sugar Land, TX

  • Dillard's Women, Lakeline Mall, Cedar Park, TX (unconfirmed)

  • Belk, Greenwood Mall, Bowling Green, KY

  • Macy's, Eastridge Center, San Jose, CA

  • Rio Las Vegas, Paradise, NV

Rarity Rating: 9/10

Lower landing with glass balustrades
O&K logo plate from this model
Error code indicator panel

RTV-TE

The skirts on this model slant up at the ends. Most of these are confirmed to have been installed in 1997.

Known installations

  • Dillard's, Chapel Hill Mall, Colorado Springs, CO

  • Dillard's, Beachwood Place, Beachwood, OH

  • Dillard's, Wolfchase Galleria, Memphis, TN

  • Dillard's, Mall of Louisiana, Baton Rouge, LA

  • Dillard's, Weberstown Mall, Stockton, CA

  • B&H Photo Video, Manhattan, New York, NY

Rarity Rating: 10/10

Upper landingphoto: Awesome Will

Inclined moving walkways

O&K made one inclined moving walkway for North America. This walkway is notable in that it goes flat near the top, then angles up again, at a lesser slope. This style of walkway is somewhat common in Asia, but this O&K walkway is the only known example of such a setup in North America.

  • Nauticus, Norfolk, VA

Rarity Rating: 10/10

O&K's lone inclined walkwayphoto: Aaron F. Stone - Wikimedia Commons (CC-BY-SA 4.0)

O&K KONE

O&K's escalator division was acquired by KONE in 1996, and similar to Montgomery KONE, the O&K KONE name was used on some escalators during the transition period. O&K KONE escalators are extremely rare, with just a few known installations in North America.

  • Newark Liberty Airport Terminal A

  • Winners, Montreal, QC

  • An unknown Montreal Metro station, Montreal, QC

Rarity Rating: 10/10

O&K Labadie

These are only found in Quebec. They were installed in the 1980s, predating the company's American division, so Labadie was likely a distributor.

  • Fabre Montreal Metro Station, Montreal, QC

Rarity Rating: 10/10