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Kone to outsource R&D from India
By siliconindia staff writer
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Friday, 02 April 2004, 20:30 IST
CHENNAI: The 5.3-billion Finnish major Kone Corporation is planning to outsource its engineering and software research functions to its Indian subsidiary, Kone Elevator India, reports Economic Times.
The Chennai-based Indian subsidiary will soon double its engineering workforce to 60. At present, Kone Corporations research is done at various global locations like the US, Finland, Italy and Germany.
Research forms a core function of the Finnish major which has just come out with a new technology in elevators, Maxispace, to maximise space in lift cabins and ensure greater speeds.
Talking to ET, Kone India Managing Director A Sankarakrishnan said: The Indian escalator market has grown from 20 (a few years back) to over 150 a year. The elevator market stands at about 10,000-12,000 a year. The growth prospects in this area are enormous. In China, the elevator market is 80,000 a year while the escalator demand is about 10,000.
The market for hi-tech elevators and escalators is, however, fragmented. For instance, the demand for elevators in Andhra Pradesh may be 1,500 a year, and a low 50 in UP or Bihar.
The retail boom and the penchant for IT companies to set up worldclass campus facilities coupled with high-end apartments are growth drivers. Kone India has recently snapped up a prestigious heavy-duty escalator contract from Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC).