Signs of growth are evident around the country.

2M Launches Academy With TÜV SÜD, Establishes Factory

2M Holdings, parent company of 2M Lifts and Escalators, has partnered in India with TÜV SÜD to establish 2M Institute for lift and escalator training, including the country’s first digital industry training academy, near its manufacturing facility in Kalady. 2M is also launching a factory in the Kanjikode industrial area — its first to produce escalators — with a capacity of 2,000 elevators and 500 escalators per year. The factory is set to be operational later this year. 2M is a major exporter of lift and escalator parts, manufacturing approximately 40 different parts at various facilities in India and partnering with manufacturers in Coimbatore, Kolkata, Ludhiana, Ahmedabad and Pune. More than 70% of its parts are exported to Gulf Cooperation Council countries and the Far East. Noorhul Ameen is director of 2M Institute, which will offer a six-month lift certification program.

Johnson Lifts Looking for Growth Opportunities

Johnson Lifts Pvt. Ltd., looking for growth areas, is turning its attention to Tier 3 cities and rural areas, The Hindu Business Line reported in January. Johnson, which competes with several multinationals, still holds a 22% share for first place in the Indian market. The vertical-transportation sector is growing at a 10% rate, but the company is expecting to realize 15% growth this year and is pursuing 20% next year. It produces more than 12,000 units annually, but the addition of two factories last year increased its capacity to about 16,000 units per annum. Recent projects have included 828 escalators and 365 lifts for metro and rail stations in Mumbai, Kolkata and Bengaluru, and, for an upcoming airport project in Chennai, Johnson will provide 50 escalators, 41 lifts and 12 moving walks, said General Manager P. Chaitanya.

New Maharashtra Rail Stations to Have Lifts, Escalators

The Maharashtra Metro Rail Corp., Ltd., has settled on four designs for 25 metro stations in Pune, Hindustan Times reported in February. The stations, planned for a 33.28-km stretch of the Reach I and II lines, will take on looks of nature (incorporating greenery), the iconic Mavala pagdi (headwear), large-scale industrial structures or what is being called “band,” a style that portrays the overall development of the region. They will be equipped with foot-overbridges (FOBs) and will include accessibility features for the disabled and others who need them.

Brijesh Dixit, managing director of the Metro, said, “The stations will be built as per the standards of the Indian Green Council, which ensures that they are sustainable stations.” Included features will be rainwater harvesting, solar panels, biodigesters and water plants. All stations will be a minimum of two levels and have elevators, escalators and FOBs to provide entry and exit to commuters. Designs for five underground stations on the line had not been finalized.

Largest Development in Canada History Coming to Mississauga

A hotbed of high-rise residential construction, the Toronto suburb of Mississauga is coming into its own with the January announcement of Square One District, a 37-tower mixed-use development that “promises to be the final lynchpin in the creation of Mississauga’s downtown,” Urban Toronto reported in January. Behind the plan are Oxford Properties Group (part of the team behind NYC’s Hudson Yards and owner of the Square One Shopping Center in Mississauga, around which the district will take shape) and Alberta pension fund AIMCo. The source observed Square One District will be the largest development in Canada’s history at 18 million ft2, larger than the previous record holder — the 12 million ft2 East Harbour in Toronto. Oxford, in partnership with The Daniels Corp., has gotten the greenlight for phase one, a pair of 36- and 48-story residential towers expected to break ground this summer. The development will feature a pedestrian thoroughfare lined with shops and restaurants known as The Strand.