Schindler CEO Bullish on VT Market

Schindler CEO Thomas Oetterli is bullish on the vertical-transportation (VT) market and said pandemic-related health concerns could boost income as clients retrofit their VT systems with controllers, air-purification systems and remote-calling capabilities, the Financial Times reports. Joining companies big and small, Schindler launched eight “clean mobility” solutions in 2020. Oetterli said long-terms trends such as urbanization will persist, and the idea of the office as the center of commercial activity is not going away. Schindler has been affected by the pandemic but not to the extent originally anticipated. A February earnings call revealed revenue was down 5% year on year and net profit took a 16.7% hit. However, revenues have “sprung back” in China, and a resurgence in Europe and North America is expected later this year.