Innovative products and strategic expansion drive Stiltz Lifts to new heights in the home mobility industry
Known for its innovative products and rapid expansion into the home mobility market, Stiltz Lifts has gone from strength to strength since its inception. Leading the business boldly into future successes is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Mike Lord. Mike’s varied experience and dynamic approach to the industry has helped establish Stiltz as one of the foremost global producers of homelift technology. He begins: “As part of Stiltz Lifts, I have been in the Chairman roles since 2014 and CEO since 2017. My main background is in the mobility industry, working in an array of roles and product areas. I also have experience in other industries, such as awards, equestrian, consumer electronics, and heavy-duty workshops.
“I am a businessman in my mind but called an entrepreneur by others. I am certainly a risk investor with as many failures as successes. I have always put my money where my mouth is, and that’s been a huge contributing factor to our success over the years.
“Stiltz was founded in 2010 by four Australian entrepreneurs. I got involved in 2012 when the business was still very small. By then, they had already established a manufacturing operation in China and sold to a handful of countries, including a core market base in the UK. Since then, the evolution has at times been a revolution, with consistent investment in new products and the opening of new markets. The UK is now only 25 percent of what we do. We sell regularly to about 50 countries, with the USA now being the biggest market. We employ around 400 people across four continents, and as homelift experts, we not only created, but are continually innovating and growing the product category.”
Providing vital care to customers across the globe, Mike and his team recognize the importance of their product offering. As Mike details: “We are essentially selling an easier life to our customers – freedom in their homes, if you like. A lot of our customers haven’t been upstairs for some time. That freedom comes in the shape of a shaftless, domestic elevator, which has mainstream aesthetics and is designed to fit within the architecture of most homes.
“We do smaller basic lifts all the way through to more sophisticated larger lifts, capable of taking three people or a power wheelchair and a carer. This is all supported by a range of services, including connected products for worry-free usage and lower maintenance costs. We also provide 24/7 service in key markets. This is an essential product for our customers, on which they depend.”
Since Mike joined Stiltz, the company has more than doubled in size and achieved a global reputation: “We’ve accomplished significant geographic expansion and have an established presence in Europe, Asia, and the Americas. In addition, we have a fantastic lead generation machine, which provides significant numbers of sales appointments to our dealer partners across the world. This has been the key to rapid growth since the start of the business, but particularly in the last five years,” Mike affirms.
Driving the company’s ongoing success is its dedication to innovation, as Mike discusses: “During the early years, our strategy was to develop fast solutions that could be turned around quickly and delivered to the customer. As we’ve learned more about our customers’ needs and desires, we’ve been able to refine our efforts. Additionally, we’re always working to improve the safety of our products and stay in line with global elevator codes. 
“Fourteen years in business taught us that you can’t keep on building the same product. We’re continually reinventing ourselves and our products alongside that. Competitors now try to imitate what we’re doing because our lifts really do set the industry standard. It’s similar to the automotive industry in that sense. We stay true to our foundational principles and build something new with them.
“Our latest platform is only just coming to market. It will give the consumer much more choice and flexibility, and it’s modular, making it more customizable. The lead time is literally as soon as you want it, and we plan on making this the production standard going forward. On top of that, we will be going beyond three floors with a clever new drive system, which has loads of new technology onboard. This is a truly smart lift that can think for itself and report how it’s doing to the installer and ultimately, the consumer.”
Starting off 2025 with a bang, Stiltz Lifts is preparing to launch an all-new product line. As Mike reveals: “Our primary goal for this year is to get the new product rollout completed as quickly as possible. The hard yards of design and manufacturing are mostly conquered – we just need to get third-party certification and field training finished.
“The last 12 months have been great for us in terms of growth, sales, and profit. We aim to double the business again by the end of 2030. If we repeat 2024 growth six times, then we will be there. We are now well into double-digit EBITDA, with a lot of investment cost behind us. Our target has always been a 20 percent return on sales, and we may just pass this on the sales growth we envisage,” he concludes.