Kone India commissions ₹450-cr unit in Chennai

In a bid to consolidate its manufacturing operations and also to make the most out of the emerging business avenues in India's infra sector, Finnish company Kone Elevator's Indian subsidiary Kone India has recently set up a new, hi-tech and modern factory on the outskirts of Chennai at an investment of ₹450 crore. The new factory, which is located at Pillaipakkam in the Sriperumbudur industrial corridor, was recently inaugurated by the Governor of Tamil Nadu Banwarilal Purohit in the presence of Ministers of Finland and Tamil Nadu apart from top brass of Kone Corporation. The new unit has been set up over an area of 50,000 sqm and is also the largest elevator production of Kone in this region. It will employ about 600 people and will have a capacity to produce more than 50,000 units per annum. The company is decommissioning the existing unit and the new factory will manufacture all its elevators and escalators. Chairman of Kone Corporation, Henrik Ehrnrooth, said that India is a very important market for the company and is also the second-largest for elevators by volumes, after China. The new factory will meet the demands of India and the neighboring regions and countries such as West Asia, South-East Asia, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Though the company is growing at single-digit now due to slowdown in the realty sector, affordable housing and other commercial projects along with infrastructure projects such as smart cities and metros are expected to provide a strong demand for elevators and escalators. Addressing the audience, Managing Director of Kone India, Amit Gossain, said that the residential market makes up about 65-70 percent of the company sales and the remaining portion is being contributed by hospitality and other commercial projects. India's elevator market is estimated to be 65,000 units a year, with the escalator market pegged at 2,500 units a year. Among others, the company also runs R&D centres in Chennai and Pune, with over 500 workers on its role.