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ELEVATORS & ESCALATORS elevators in SIPCOT Industrial Park, Pillaipakkam, Sriperumbudur near
system to enhance our environmental performance. In the future, to enhance our environmental performance. In the future,
elevators in SIPCOT Industrial Park, Pillaipakkam, Sriperumbudur near
INTERACTION sustainable, by leveraging new tech and by adopting best for the Indian market as well as for Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal and
system
Chennai. KONE’s production unit in Tamil Nadu produces elevators
Chennai. KONE’s production unit in Tamil Nadu produces elevators
we look forward to making our processes more environmentally
we look forward to making our processes more environmentally
Sri Lanka.
practices.
Chennai also has three training centers where KONE’s installation
engineers and field mechanics are trained to meet KONE India’s
Details us on the new products launched by your company.
KONE DX class elevators are our newest addition in the range of
strong reputation for high quality and uncompromised safety, as
products. We are very excited about these as they are our launch
maintaining elevators and escalators.
pad to the elevators of the future. DX Class elevators use the KONE
KONE India’s technology and engineering center in Chennai and
digital platform and secure APIs to connect elevators with a whole well as the expectations of Indian customers, when installing and
new suite of solutions and services that make life easier and more Pune, which are part of the eight global R&D centers, are testing
convenient for users. and research hubs, which support the latest technology and
To go in a bit detail, every KONE DX Class elevator gives the ability development of future KONE solutions.
to:
• Easily and remotely activate digital services. Now customers What kind of government policy would foster growth of the E&E
could activate services such as KONE 24/7 Connected industry in India?
Services and KONE Residential Flow, with ease. We believe that the industry suffers from two issues - shortage of
• Integrate with third-party solutions. All these bring new levels of skilled manpower & ambiguity in safety codes.
sophistication to the people flow experience. Talking about the first issue, there is an abundance of human
• Access advanced dynamic display, sound and lighting options capital in India and as India is a rapidly developing country, all the
to make the journey in elevator unique and so on. people could secure stable jobs. But it’s important to skill more. We
would be willing to collaborate with government to train the youth
Your strategy to play in a price sensitive market. in elevator installation and servicing niche as there is significant
With the increased urbanization and high government support, the demand in this sector. As a matter of fact, we have collaborated
elevator market has boomed, bringing many players in the market. with Chitkara University and introduced a course on vertical
This has indeed made the market price sensitive. Though at KONE transportation to enlighten and teach students on manufacturing
we believe focusing on our products, delivering exquisite service to and technology.
our partners is the best strategy for dealing with such issues. On the second issue, there is lack of uniformity in safety codes
Apart from this, we also pay special focus on R&D that could in states across India. Given the relevance of vertical mobility
decrease the cost associated with elevator manufacturing and in urban environment, there is a rising concern regarding safety
installation. So, focusing on our customer service and using and regulations for installing the elevators, which calls for the
technology to build efficient products has been our primary strategy Lift Regulation Act to be made mandatory in all states. It will be
to deal with the price sensitive market. important to change it to a Central act rather than a State act.
It’s time that the government brings uniform guidelines across the
Which segments are the biggest demand drivers for your products country for the safety norms to be followed by the elevators and
Talking about the overall sales split, 53% of our sales come from escalators manufacturers.
new equipment installation, 33% from maintenance activities &
14% from modernization. Your market outlook for the elevators & escalators industry and
As of now, the residential sector accounts for nearly 65%-80% of our for your company?
total demands. If we dive a bit deeper into the stats, the high-end We believe the E&E market is set to only grow in the coming years.
elevators account for 20-25% of the total residential segment. With the rise in disposable income, we can expect booming
With the rising disposable income of the country, we are seeing construction and infrastructure activities in the forthcoming years.
many projects being built up in Tier-2 & Tier-3 cities which were The growth isn’t going to be limited to Tier-1 cities and we’ll see a
earlier confined to just metro cities. Apart from this, we are seeing more even growth throughout the country. Only those players who
demand flowing from airports, railways, metro railway projects, could embrace and adapt to the ever-changing needs of the
foot-over bridges on roads and urban infrastructure projects too. customers could survive in the long run.
And as new ecosystems emerge around smarter cities and smarter
Tell us about your manufacturing base in India. What is the level buildings, there is a huge potential with the integration of building
of indigenization? Are you contributing to the ‘Make in India’ and design with elevators, escalators, services and other utilities, in the
Sell Globally campaign? most sustainable ways possible. We, at KONE, are moving quickly
At KONE, our employees and the country where our operations to ensure we have the best elevator, escalator and uninterrupted
take place matters a lot for us. We believe in giving back to both connectivity for the best people flow experience – as well as the
these two sections as they constitute the fundamental block of best performing field service.
our business. While KONE’s establishment in India dates back to At KONE India, our focus would be on leveraging the trust we’ve
1984, the Make in India initiative was a major motivator for us to already created all along our 30+ years of our operation in India
expand our manufacturing facility in India. We have been making in and we hope we’ll be successful in contributing to the growth of
India ever since. In 2019, we inaugurated our world-class facility for the country.

90 CONSTRUCTION OPPORTUNITIES|FEBRUARY 2022