Hyundai Elevator Turns Away from Chinese Escalator Imports

With K-Escalator, its new joint venture (JV) with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), opening in September in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea’s Hyundai Elevator is reducing its reliance on escalators and components imported from China, which it believes resulted in several accidents with injuries, The Korea Times reports. Chinese companies have captured the lion’s share of the South Korean market for supplying escalators and components for “excessively low prices” for units and components in public facilities such as metro stations. At public transit stations in Busan, Incheon and Daejeon, for example, more than 90% of escalators are made with Chinese components. With its new JV with SMEs, Hyundai elevator aims to take the lead in efforts to reduce dependence on Chinese imports.