Tamil Nadu, India, 6th November 2019: KONE Elevator India Pvt. Ltd. a wholly owned subsidiary of KONE Corporation, a global leader in the elevator and escalator industry, today inaugurated its world-class facility for elevators in SIPCOT Industrial Park, Pillaipakkam, Sriperumbudur near Chennai. This state-of-the-art elevator manufacturing facility was inaugurated by Thiru Banwarilal Purohit, Honourable Governor of Tamil Nadu in the presence of H.E. Pekka Haavisto, Honourable Minister for Foreign Affairs of Finland, Thiru M. C. Sampath, Honourable Minister for Industrial Department, Govt. of Tamil Nadu, Antti Herlin, Chairman, Henrik Ehrnrooth, President & CEO, Axel Berkling, EVP APA from KONE Corporation and Amit Gossain, Managing Director, KONE India. The new facility is built at an investment of INR 450 crore, employing around 600 people, and is designed for a capacity based on demand.
KONE India is now all set to ride on the wave of urbanisation in the country with its new plant. Spread across a whopping 50,000 sqm, KONE’s new elevator manufacturing unit is the largest in this region. The factory is equipped with the latest technology in production, reinforcing KONE’s customer focused strategy to provide the most competitive, highest quality products with short delivery time. Though the new plant will majorly focus on the Indian market, KONE will be exporting to neighbouring countries like Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
Delivering the inaugural address, the Chief Guest, Thiru Banwarilal Purohit stated, “It gives me immense happiness to be here for the inauguration of KONE India’s world-class elevator manufacturing facility and I am pleased that KONE has chosen SIPCOT Industrial Park, Pillaipakkam, Sriperumbudur Tamil Nadu, to set up this largest facility in this region. We welcome this investment project from KONE Corporation, which brings high-end technology solutions and jobs to our nation.”
H.E. Pekka Haavisto, Honourable Minister for Foreign Affairs of Finland shared his views on the occasion, “I am extremely delighted to be a part of such an incredible occasion. India and Finland enjoy friendly as well as dynamic commercial relationship with exports and imports showing substantial annual increases. India is one of the fastest growing economy and Finnish companies actively participate in this economic development. Indian Information Technology businesses are also establishing their presence in Finland.”
Speaking at the inauguration, Thiru M. C. Sampath, Honourable Minister for Industrial Department, Govt. of Tamil Nadu said, “Tamil Nadu is among the most industrialised states in the country and ranks first among all states in terms of the number of factories and industrial workers. It is one of the most coveted investment destinations due to its strategic location, conducive business environment, advanced infrastructure, positive governance and sound ecosystem. It’s a pleasure that KONE has set up this outstanding factory in Tamil Nadu and I am looking forward to a better future for Tamil Nadu’s economy.”
Commenting on the vision behind setting-up this factory, Henrik Ehrnrooth, President & CEO, KONE Corporation, said, “We are very pleased to inaugurate this state-of-the-art factory in India. The expanded facility will help KONE cater better to our customers as well as meeting the demands for a growing elevator market here in India and in neighbouring countries. Our Winning with Customers strategy also continues to help our customer’s businesses become more sustainable. With this in mind, our new facility supports stringent sustainability and energy efficient operations.”
Axel Berkling, EVP APA, KONE Corporation stated, “India plays a very important role, not only in Asia Pacific but also in the global plans for KONE and therefore this expansion of the factory is of immense importance. We all know that the technology adoption rate in India is quite high and the new factory will play a key role in delivering world class quality solutions in line with the requirements of the market.”
Listed in the most innovative companies list of Forbes for seven times, innovation has been a strategic imperative for KONE. Constantly developing technology is an integral part of KONE’s commitment to improve the flow of urban life. At KONE, innovation means sustainability and making better use of energy and resources to improve customer experience through real-time transparency. For users, it means a better, personalized experience through the whole elevator and escalator journey, from access to destination.
Emphasising on the need to focus on supporting urbanization with break-through technology in the most sustainable way possible, Amit Gossain, Managing Director, KONE India, believes that this elevator manufacturing facility will enable the company to further step up exports to other markets and generate employment. He explained, “The new unit aims at leveraging digitalization opportunities and speeding up development in a changing business environment. It will tap exciting and unique ways to improve customer and user experience as well as the quality and productivity of KONE’s operations.”
“To meet the growing demand, we have set up this factory with increased manufacturing capacity. We also significantly invest in R&D and create expert manpower for providing operation and maintenance services. We have over 5000 direct employees and a large number of indirect employment through subcontractors, suppliers and partners, who innovate together to deliver the best results,” he added.
To enable a sustainable built environment, the new facility is designed as per Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) norms. The facility has been designed and built using strategies aimed at improving performance across all the metrics that matter most: energy savings, water efficiency, CO2 emissions reduction, improved indoor environmental quality, and stewardship of resources and sensitivity to their impacts.
KONE has been dedicated to People Flow for over 100 years now and with this century-old rich history, KONE has become an industry leading company with innovative, safe and eco-efficient solutions to deliver the best People Flow experience.
