Elevator industry goes for Paradigm Shift

In an era of global warming with growing need to reduce carbon footprint and increasing acceptability of the green building concept, elevator manufacturers are currently busy in rolling out smart and energy-efficient products. Companies such as Kone India, Otis India, Schindler India, and Hitachi, which have been manufacturing manual door elevators, once formed a major part of the elevator market in India, are on decline, thanks to the growing awareness among customers and end-users, about safety and energy efficiency. Its place is being taken by the smart elevators capable of communicating with passengers, building manager's service staff and other building systems to improve the passenger experience and elevator performance, especially through improved elevator maintenance, MD, KONE India, Amit Gossain said, adding that one of the emerging trends in the industry is collaborating on opportunities to enhance connectivity through the use of Internet of Things (IoT) products, services, and technologies that employ digital technologies to better connect with customers and with elevator, escalator and moving walkway equipment. Echoing his viewpoint, President, Otis India, Sebi Joseph said that the next developments in elevator technology is to leverage digitalization. The acceptability by the real estate developers has been a major factor in bringing the change. Real estate developers are increasingly adopting gearless and machine-room-less (MRL) elevators over the traditional elevators which require machine room on top of the building, as this offers them more flexibility to design the building, and ensures an overall saving of cost and time, opines CEO, Schindler India, to Antony Parokaran.