Ben Abbaspour has been senior engineer at ABBA Engineering in Solana Beach, California, since 2006. He has also been a consultant for Hydranics in Rancho Santa Fe, California, since 2001. Prior to these positions, he served as president of Amlift International Inc. in San Diego, Elevator Equipment Corp. in Los Angeles and Science Laboratories in Tehran, Iran. He has also been chief engineer of Elevator Equipment Co., also in Los Angeles. Some of Abbaspour's achievements include creating, launching and managing the startup of an elevator company in San Diego; designing, developing, prototyping and launching a new elevator for the U.S. market; launching the Just In Time concept and strict purchasing discipline at two plants; and designing and developing a Microsoft¨ Windows¨-based quote program for the sizing and pricing of elevators. Abbaspour has also designed, built and utilized a fully computerized test tower for the testing of hydraulic valves. Abbaspour holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from AMUUniversity and an MS in the same discipline from Northwestern University. He has been trained in the ASME A17.1 Safety Code for Elevators and Escalators.