Our history

In 1947, the Cibes brand was created by the Swedish engineer and innovator Bertil Svedberg. The brand was marketed by his company Elektroborg AB in Stockholm.

In the 1950s, Bertil Svedberg started manufacturing chain-driven construction elevators with rated loads between 200 kg and 1000 kg.

The demand for affordable accessibility solutions for private homes and residential buildings increased in Sweden. In the mid-1960s, we launched a hydraulic platform lift designed for wheelchair accessibility and housing adaptation.

In the early 1970s, we launched a screw-driven lift with a completely new design, that would become the forerunner of today’s B type lifts. The lift model was wheelchair accessible and equipped with built-in safety features, such as safety bars. That made this early Cibes wheelchair lift a cutting-edge product in the accessibility field and perfect for housing adaptation.

In the 1980s, we started exporting low-speed lifts to neighbouring countries in Scandinavia. Research and development also intensified and resulted in a low-speed, screw-driven platform lift enclosed by shaft walls, also known as an A type lift, or a vertical platform lift. This new lift type increased the demand for Cibes platform lift solutions.

The Cibes A5000 platform lift model was first launched in 1992. Since then, CibesA5000 has undergone continuous development and is to this day, our best-selling lift model.

 

We started a cautious export expansion, beginning with Europe, as well as some more remote countries. We installed our first lift in China at the Macau Museum – a lift that is still operating today!

We started exporting low-speed lifts to countries outside of Scandinavia on a larger scale, marking the beginning of our rapid international expansion.

During the 1990s the need for wheelchair lifts and other accessibility solutions increased throughout Europe and so did the need for harmonisation of rules and regulations. In 1999, we were one of the 24 lift companies that founded European Platform and Stairlift Association (EPSA), a non-profit organisation, working to harmonise rules and regulations for platform lifts and stairlifts in the European Union and the United Kingdom.

Our company experienced rapid growth for more than twenty years and in the year 2000, sales reached approximately 100 million SEK.

In 2003, we were acquired by the Swedish investment company R12. Thanks to their financial strength, long-term perspective and committed ownership, R12 played a significant role in our rapid growth between 2003−2017.

We acquired lift company Axess4All in the UK. This was our first ever company acquisition.

In 2008, we received the prestigious Hermes Export Prize for the impressive export ventures of Cibes Lift. The award was handed over by Swedish Crown Princess Victoria Bernadotte.

The same year, our owners acquired the Swedish lift manufacturing company Kalea Lifts AB, as well as the Dutch distributing company, Aesy Liften B.V. These acquisitions led to the creation of Cibes Lift Group.

In 2009, our owners acquired Swedish lift manufacturing company NTD Lifts, a company created by former Cibes employees in the 1980s, that reintegrated the Cibes family.

Cibes Lift Group sales reached approximately 250 million SEK.

In 2012, we opened our modern production unit and R&D centre in Gävle. Thanks to the 10 000 m2 production surface, all manufacturing and development resources in Sweden could be gathered under one roof.

The same year, the Belgian subsidiary of Aesy Liften was created and goods lift Cibes A8000 was launched.

We acquired subsidiary Hissipörssi in Finland and our company group established new direct sales subsidiary, Cibes Lift China, which quickly developed into 30 showrooms and service centers across China.

Cibes Lift Norge AS was founded in Norway.

We established Cibes Lift Ibérica SL in Madrid. The company was created to provide local support to distributing partners and sell directly to key customers in Spain and Portugal. The creation of the Spanish subsidiary was quickly followed by the creation of French subsidiary Cibes Lift France.

We acquired UK based Platform Lift Solutions. New subsidiaries were created in the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Dubai.

In 2017, we celebrated the 70th birthday of Cibes and our sales reached almost 800 million SEK. The same year, our owner R12 sold Cibes Lift Group to investment company Nalka. We signed several new distributing partners in countries like Croatia, Albania, Slovakia, the Caribbean, Malta, Italy, Chile, Peru, Mexico, and Iceland. In addition, a joint venture company GS-Aufzuge Cibes GmbH was created in Austria.

Our expansion in the North of Europe continued with the acquisition of Finland’s largest privately owned lift company, AMSLIFT Oy. We also acquired 45% of the shares of French distributing partner Aratal Attractive Mobility.

For the first time in our history, our sales revenue exceeded 1 billion SEK.

We acquired Swedish lift company Hiss i Skåne and a new subsidiary, Cibes Lift Deutschland, was created in Germany, with offices in Berlin. We also opened a Regional Headquarter in Shanghai.

In 2020, we established a second large production unit, complete with its own R&D center in Jiaxing, China, to cater for the needs of markets in Asia and MENA. The same year, Cibes Lift US Inc., was created in the USA and we acquired Finnish lift company RH Tekniikka OY, as well as UK based Titan Elevators.

The same year, we also launched Cibes C1 Pure, the first screw-driven cabin lift with sliding doors. This lift model is operated with automatic drive, just like conventional elevators.

 

We acquired several lift companies in the USA and Europe, including Georgia based American Elevator of Atlanta, Norwegian Heisplan, in Ålesund, and Swedish Upplands Hiss in Uppsala.

In 2021, our sales revenues reached 1.9 billion SEK and we launched Cibes Air, a platform lift model with a unique and intuitive design.

In 2022, we celebrated the 75th birthday of Cibes, yet an important milestone in our long company history.

The same year, Bella Elevator LLC, manufacturer of Symmetry Elevating Solutions, in the USA was acquired to strengthen our position in North America. The acquisition not only included a production unit but also access to a strong distribution network in both USA and Canada.

The same year, we also acquired Apex Lifts in the UK, and 100% of the shares of French company Aratal Attractive Mobility.

We acquired US company Elevator Service Company,  a full-service elevator contractor, opening new business opportunities in the USA.

Our sales revenues reached 3.6 billion SEK and we launched Cibes Cloud Plus, a platform lift that is part of our latest generation of elegant and sustainable platform lifts.

Our new production unit in Gdansk, Poland, created to manufacture and supply key components and packaging details for our production units in Sweden and the USA, was inaugurated.

In the UK, Titan Elevators merged with Apex Lifts and in North America the acquisitions of distributing companies continued.