Gossain Speaks With ET On Cost Increases And More

In a report by The Economic Times (ET), Amit Gossain, managing director, KONE Elevators India, said that “the increase in commodity prices is one of the biggest challenges today that the industry is facing, as it has pushed up the cost of manufacturing between 5-25%.” These increases are being passed to the builder and the end-users who are resisting the additional costs but, with a 70% increase just in steel prices, for example, Gossain explained that vendors have to increase prices, as well. He went on to tell ET that the legal agreements/contracts for projects that have been on hold need to be revised due to the increasing costs but that doing this without taking a loss is a challenge for not only the elevator industry but across the board. Gossain said the market is again close to pre-COVID levels. He also spoke with the source about the need for a Lift Act to be implemented in all Indian states to ensure basic safety standards, especially with the push for affordable housing. Elaborating on why affordable housing requires a Lift Act, Gossain said that when the process of tendering begins, a spec is given but should not be so low that there is a safety issue. A Lift Act would mean that there is a minimum standard, such as every project having to include an emergency rescue device. The various metro projects that are being planned across the country provide a lucrative opportunity, but Gossain told the source that KONE does lose out on some projects because of less-expensive peers. “We do lose out because we don’t intend to go out and lower our specs in a manner to match the specs that are given,” Gossain explained. “But in some of the places where it’s not alone a tender based thing and also has to do with our quality, we win.”