KONE eyes up to 6 pc growth in 2017; banks on realty revival

Leading elevator manufacturer KONE India is targeting 5-6 per cent sales growth this year on the back of new products and likely revival in the property market.
KONE India, a subsidiary of the Euro 8.8 billion KONE Corporation of Finland, posted a muted growth of 3-4 per cent in 2016 as sales and new launches of real estate projects fell sharply following demonetisation in November.
"The elevator and escalator market in India is currently about 50,000 units per annum. Escalator market is very small. Our market share was over 20 per cent in 2016," KONE India Managing Director Amit Gossain told PTI.

He said the company's business grew by 3-4 per cent during 2016 calendar year even as growth in the overall elevator and escalator industry remained flat mainly due to demand slowdown in the real estate market.
"Real estate sector is not doing well as the industry has been impacted by demonetisation. With things now getting more stable, there is likely to be growth in the real estate sector which should benefit the elevator and escalator industry," he said.
Gossain said the government's decision to accord infrastructure status to affordable housing in the Budget along with interest subvention would help the sector in gradually recovering from demonetisation impact.

The housing demand and sales are expected to grow from second half of this year, he added.

Stating that the elevator industry is likely to grow by 3-4 per cent during 2017, Gossain said the company expects to grow slightly faster at 5-6 per cent by offering leading technology products and best services to customers.
"We have recently launched gearless elevator KONE Neo which has a speed of 0.6 meter per second. This is a very good product for small homes and apartments," he said.
Gossain said the company has acquired a 20 acre land parcel near its existing plant in Chennai to set up a new unit to cater to domestic as well as export markets.

KONE India, which employs over 4,500 people, is focusing on research and development to develop new products as per the market requirement. It is also integrating digital technology into its products.
"Safety is at the top of our agenda. It is important that after the handover of the elevator, a proper maintenance contract is signed with the OEM. This ensures that the elevator is in safe hands and with regular checks untoward situations can be certainly avoided," he added.
Last year, KONE had signed a multi-year agreement with technology giant IBM for cloud-based Internet of Things technologies and services.