Kone India to launch energy saving elevators in 2 years

Elevator and escalator major KONE India, a 100% subsidiary of KONE Corporation of Finland, planned to introduce energy saving elevators in the country by 2012, a senior company official said.

These proposed elevators would save 50% energy and would work efficiently, Kone Technology senior vice-president Jussi Oijala said here.
   
The company expected to manufacture the energy saving elevators equipped with new generation technologies at the Chennai plant by another two years, he said.

KONE has a production facility at Ayanambakkam near here. The company employs about 2,800 people in the country and has 40 branches.

Oijalal said the new elevators would also be able to shut off automatically when not in use. "Through this we can make them (elevators) perform much better," he said.

The company had already launched energy saving elevators in Europe. "In 2006 we had set a target of manufacturing elevators that will consume only 50 per cent of power by 2010 and today its been achieved...," he said.
   
The parent company KONE Corporation has allocated Euros 60 million as investment in research and development for 2010-11.

The Chennai facility produces elevators for the Indian market as well as for Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka besides manufacturing components for modernisation projects in Australia, Singapore and Malaysia.

Oijala and other senior company officials were here to inaugurate their first Indian Technology and Engineering Centre. According to them, the R&D and engineering units would be present in one location, a first of its kind worldwide.
  
"Kone's innovation leadership is constantly strengthened in technology centers around the world that work together with customers, suppliers, research institutes and other KONE units. India has highly competent engineers and capable technical staff. Now we have created a team that can better support global functions and production', Oijala said after the inauguration.
   
A total of 36 eco-efficient KONE MonSpace elevators and two KONE TravelMaster Escalators have been installed at the ITEC which fulfill the requirements of green building certifications.
   
He said around 300 employees at the centre would be working on the site and engineers would be trained on modern technologies currently practiced at the global level.

KONE Corporation as of December 2009 has an order book size of Euros 3,309 million and reported a net income of Euros 449.5 million for the year ended December 2009 against Euros 436.7 million in the corresponding period of previous year.

While most of the revenues were generated from the European region (59 per cent), Asia Pacific region contributed 17% to the global figures, he said.

Recently KONE Corporation acquired independent elevator service company in Oregon, USA Reliant Elevator Company, for an "undisclosed amount".

Reliant Elevator Company focuses on elevator maintenance, repairs and modernisation. The company has 1,400 elevators in
its maintenance base.