How do you see the renewed vigor, through policy reforms and increased budgetary allocation, aiding the growth of infrastructure sector and especially elevator and escalator industry in the next decade?
The thrust given to infrastructure development in the budget is certainly a positive sign and we will see this sector picking up. With more metros coming up the need to move many more people safe and smooth will increase. The requirement of vertical mobility solutions will surge. The government has also announced that many of the airports will need to be modernized, which also brings up the need to have auto walks, escalators and elevators which can provide uninterrupted people flow.
The government has announced various initiatives such as ‘Housing for All’, Affordable Housing, modernization of Airports, Railways, Ports, etc, how do you foresee the growth of elevator and escalator sector in the next decade?
The Real Estate industry has had its own swings over the last few years which has resulted in piling up of a large amount of inventory. The impact of demonetization has also taken a toll on this industry. But now with the RERA, REIT and GST, the way forward look much brighter and optimistic. The sentiments of buyers and developers are positive and the real estate policies will help in faster development. In India, the contribution from the residential segment is high and hence the tag of infrastructure for the affordable segment will fasten the pace of growth. And with scarcity of land, buildings have to go vertical, which obviously means that requirement for elevators is likely to be quite high.
What will be the futuristic technological innovations in elevator and escalator in the coming decade?
As buildings get taller and taller with the capacity to serve tens of thousands of users simultaneously, there is increased pressure on elevators and escalators to keep people moving smoothly. KONE is leading the way in bringing together technology and innovation to meet the requirements of some of the world’s most ambitious and iconic buildings. The future is all about predictive analysis. KONE had joined forces with IBM and will tap into the IBM Watson IoT Cloud Platform to connect, remotely monitor and optimize its management of millions of escalators, doors and turnstiles in buildings and cities worldwide. The system will analyze vast amounts of data from sensors embedded in equipment helping to identify and predict issues and minimize downtime. Instead of having to call in a service engineer, KONE will be able to predict and resolve selected technical issues remotely by running tests and making commands over the cloud.
What will be KONE Elevator’s contribution to the infrastructure sector down the decade?
At KONE, we will continue to innovate and provide value to our customers in line with the market trends. We have a best in class production unit which can provide support to the ever increasing needs of the customer. To support the large growth that is happening in the infra segment, we will gear up both on the product and technology platform to meet the need of the urbanizing markets.
Our ITEC (India Technology Engineering Centre) will also play a key role in supporting KONE India’s market development. KONE always aims to bring in the customer and end-user perspective when developing products. With stronger R&D and engineering collaboration here in India, we will continue to serve the growing Indian market with innovative People Flow solutions, which we will keep improving.
@EPC World Media Group
