KONE India To Manufacture Escalators

KONE Elevator India will start manufacturing escalators at its Sriperumbudur plant in India from the first half of 2024 as part of its expansion program and will be the only company to manufacture escalators in India, The Hindu reports. KONE India has been importing escalators from China and Finland and then assembling them, but the company will start manufacturing and assembling them locally for the domestic market to support the “Make in India” initiative. Initially, KONE will manufacture a few hundred escalators for the domestic market against a few thousand elevators. The target customers are airports, metro stations, railway stations and shopping malls, among others. The Indian market for escalators and elevators is pegged at about 65,000 to 70,000 units per annum, of which escalators account for 5%. KONE India has a market share of 25% in the elevator segment. KONE India is likely to end the calendar year 2023 with a 15% growth over CY2022 and is likely to maintain the same growth target for CY2024, according to the source.