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PEOPLE FLOW |
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“K
ONE’s business in
China started in 1985,
when KONE began
marketing directly to China from
its Hong Kong unit,” recalls
William B. Johnson
, managing
director of KONE China.
KONE Elevators Co., Ltd. was
founded in 1996 and two years
later a local headquarters was
established in Kunshan, close
to Shanghai. In 2005, KONE
China moved its headquarters
to Shanghai and today that
operation is the hub of the
KONE China network. Linking
34 branches and more than 100
service depots, KONE China em-
ploys more than 3,400 experts
which cover all operations for the
entire country.
Kunshan, meanwhile, is now
the site of a KONE production
site with approximately 142,000
square meters. The facility pro-
duces elevators and escalators for
the Chinese market and deliver-
ies also extend to the Middle
East, Southeast Asia, Australia,
New Zealand and Europe.
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KONE
IN CHINA
70% OF THE CHINESE
PEOPLE WILL LIVE
AND WORK IN URBAN
AREAS BY 2035
70
KONE became the largest elevator
and escalator equipment provider for
Beijing Olympic construction projects.
The company was responsible for nearly
900 units of elevators, escalators and
autowalks – accounting for over 50 per-
cent of total equipment for the Beijing
Olympic projects.
“The Beijing Olympics in 2008
really raised our visibility,” comments
Johnson. “High-ranking government
officials visited the venues, as well as
athletes, media and other visitors. All
of them had a chance to get to know
the KONE brand.”
More recently, KONE was awarded
orders for the Beijing-Shanghai Express
Railway network (342 escalators), the
Leaptop Plaza building in Guangzhou
(33 elevators and 2 escalators), two
lines of the Beijing subway system
(140 escalators and 32 elevators), the
new Kunming international airport (90
machine room-less elevators and 16
autowalks), as well as for Raffles City
Chengdu (38 elevators, 22 escalators
and 6 autowalks).
“We are one of the fastest grow-
ing elevator companies in China; and
have been for the last four years. With
a quarter of a century of experience
in China and an entire century of ex-
perience worldwide, we are confident
KONE is looking towards a solid fu-
ture,” Johnson concludes.
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