KONE India 2nd plant to serve domestic and South Asian markets

Elevator and escalator maker KONE India is setting up its second manufacturing unit near here for the domestic and South Asian markets, a top official said.

"The facility, which does not require fixed investments, will cater to all segments of the market. It will be a world class facility to serve India and South Asian markets. As the markets pick up we will enhance capacity, investments and manpower," KONE India Managing Director Amit Gossain told PTI.

The second facility is coming up at neighbouring Sriperumbudur and is expected to be ready by mid-2019.

KONE India currently serves to segments of real estate market -- including residential, retail, hospitality and commercial segments.

KONE India has an existing unit at nearby Ayanambakkam that can be altered based on the market demand on production of elevators.

The existing unit, besides serving the domestic market, also serves Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka.

Claiming that the company was a pioneer in developing eco-efficient, sustainable solutions for urban development, he said, "Our customers look for reliable and safe solutions which are easy to use. KONE India focuses in understanding and delivering this, right from the day of its inception."

"In India, we currently have more than 4,000 people employed in permanent direct jobs. We have created indirect jobs through many suppliers supplying to KONE as well as through sub-contractors who work on various sites," he said.

KONE India has a training centre where 'installation engineers' and 'field mechanics' are trained to meet the strong reputation for high quality and uncompromised safety, he said.

"KONE's global technology and engineering centre is a testing and research hub which has been playing a key role in supporting KONE India's market development and also in making modifications to the design to suit Indian conditions," he said.

To a query, he said India is the second largest elevator and escalator market after China with a current market size of around 50,000 units per year.

KONE India has a market share of 20 per cent, he said.

Asked how much KONE India contributes to the group, he said, "at the moment it is not very substantial."

"Technology, service and quality installation will be the key areas that KONE will focus on and we expect good positive growth in the years to come depending on the speed of urbanisation...," he said.

Recently, KONE India launched new elevators for the mid range segment and also unveiled its new customer experience centre in the city.

The KONE U MonoSpace Elevators were upto 35 per cent more energy efficient than its earlier elevators.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)