KONE Corporation, pressrelease, April 10, 2013
KONE celebrated the official opening of itsnew KONE Park manufacturing site, engineering facility and researchand development (R&D) center in the Kunshan New and Hi-techIndustrial Development Zone in Eastern China today. At some 240,000square meters, the purpose-built KONE Park includes three elevatorfactories and an escalator factory, and is KONE's largestmanufacturing unit in the world.
"We are proud of the Kunshan KONE Park, whichenables us to better meet our customers' needs in China, the restof Asia, and, indeed, the rest of the world," said Heikki Leppänen,Executive Vice President, KONE New Equipment Business. "While Chinais by far the single biggest market for new elevators andescalators, products from Kunshan are also exported to more than 90countries."
The opening ceremony was attended by FinnishForeign Trade Minister Alexander Stubb, Kunshan Mayor Lu Jun, aswell as KONE Chairman Antti Herlin, and KONE President and CEOMatti Alahuhta.
KONE Park was planned according to KONE's globalsupply network needs and the lean manufacturing principle, aimed atmaximizing efficiency and eliminating waste. Emphasis has also beenon further reducing energy and water use as well as the unit'scarbon footprint. KONE Park was constructed according to moderngreen building standards and aims to earn a LEED Gold greenbuilding certification.
The new site, which began operations in phasesduring 2012, is located close to the Suzhou-Shanghai Expressway,enabling good connections to both suppliers and customers. Itreplaces an older facility, which has also been located in Kunshanand has included both elevator and escalator production as well asresearch and development.
The three new Kunshan elevator module factoriesproduce elevator cars, elevator electrification products andelevator motors. The escalator factory produces both commercial andheavy-duty escalators as well as horizontal and inclined autowalks.KONE Park also includes one of KONE's eight global R&D centers.A new high-rise test tower is under construction at the expandedKunshan R&D site. The tower supports the development of KONE'sPeople Flow® solutions for skyscrapers and will be opened in2014.
KONE began operations in China in 1996, when itregistered the KONE Elevators Co., Ltd. subsidiary. The firstKunshan factory was opened in 1998 at a site that is now in themidst of a residential area. KONE also operates through itsmajority-owned GiantKONE joint venture. KONE has a network of over350 locations in China, employing some 8,900 people. Last year,KONE became the leading company in the Chinese market in terms ofnew elevator and escalator orders.
For further information,please contact:
Anne Korkiakoski, EVP, Marketing & Communications, KONECorporation, tel. +358 204 75 4775
About KONE
KONE is one of the global leaders in the elevatorand escalator industry. The company has been committed tounderstanding the needs of its customers for the past century,providing industry-leading elevators, escalators and automaticbuilding doors as well as innovative solutions for modernizationand maintenance. The company's objective is to offer the bestPeople Flow® experience by developing and delivering solutions thatenable people to move smoothly, safely, comfortably and withoutwaiting in buildings in an increasingly urbanizing environment. In2012, KONE had annual net sales of EUR 6.3 billion and around40,000 employees. KONE class B shares are listed on the NASDAQ OMXHelsinki Ltd in Finland.