KONE Celebrates 115th Anniversary

KONE celebrated its 115th anniversary on October 27. At the heart of its new strategy “Rise” lie sustainability and innovation. This 115-year-old success story employs more than 60,000 people across nearly 70 countries and has brought industry-transforming innovations to the market throughout its history. In 2024, KONE’s revenue reached EUR11 billion (US$12.8 billion). KONE was among the first to set ambitious, science-based climate targets. By 2030, the company aims to reduce emissions from its own operations by 50% and cut the emissions associated with its products’ materials and lifetime energy consumption by 40% per product ordered, compared to a 2018 baseline. Company milestones include the world’s first machine-room-less elevator, KONE MonoSpace^®, enabled by the pioneering KONE EcoDisc^® hoisting technology; later innovations such as KONE UltraRope™, the carbon-fiber rope for high-rises, the first in the industry to enable elevator rides up to 1 km; the world’s first digital KONE DX elevator series with built-in connectivity; and KONE 24/7 Connect maintenance service. Today, KONE’s technologies are featured in some of the world’s most iconic and technically demanding projects, and the company has been selected to deliver its advanced People Flow^® solutions for five of the 10 tallest buildings globally. Since its founding in 1910 in Helsinki, Finland, KONE has grown from a local engineering company into a world-leading innovator shaping urban life on every continent. In 1918, KONE produced a total of four elevators. By 1928, the company was already producing one elevator per day, and today KONE’s factories deliver approximately 750 units daily, serving more than 600,000 customers globally.