Back to Back to top /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image100.jpg In the 1960s and 1970s, KONE was deeply involved in the textile business. A student friend of Heikki Herlin, Eero Kalaja, had invented a nylon creping machine (pictured) that KONE helped develop. By the time the business was sold off in 1974, KONE owned a vertical operation that included the manufacture and marketing of the creping machines by Spinner, the creping of the nylon thread by Kerilon, and the manufacture of socks and pantyhose by Keri. /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image099.jpg KONE Netherlands piloted the first MonoSpace® elevator. To protect the secret that it had no machine room, the prototype’s test shaft was built with a fake one, and components were installed only late in the evening. At one point, a manager not involved in the project accidentally saw the MX machine and enquired what it was. Thinking quickly, the fitter told him it was the new KONE overspeed governor. This gobbledygook apparently satisfied the inquisitive manager, and the secret was preserved. /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image098.jpg KONE’s global functions and also the office of Matti Alahuhta, the President & CEO of KONE, are located at the KONE Building. The 18-storey building, which was completed in 2001, is designed by a renowned architect Antti-Matti Siikala and is located in Keilaniemi, Finland. Keilaniemi is known for the numerous head offices of large corporations located there. In addition to KONE, the district includes also the head offices of Nokia, Fortum, Neste Oil, and many other corporations. /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image097.jpg While servicing a bank of elevators late one night in a Moscow hotel, KONE’s Pekka Kärhä took one car out of service. He ran to the machine room and disabled it, then ran numerous test runs from the machine room. After about 20 minutes, he returned the car to service and went to drive it a few times from inside. Opening the door, he found an astonished cleaning lady, who warned him: “Don’t use this elevator! It’s crazy!” /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image096.jpg For the first century of safe passenger elevator usage, they were “driven” in most countries by professional operators, who were responsible for starting and stopping the cars and seeing that they leveled properly at their destination floor. Only after World War II did technological innovation begin to make this job redundant. Nevertheless many buildings were still using elevator operators in the 1960s and 1970s, sometimes for increased security. /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image095.jpg KONE was focused on environmental responsibility long before the rest. The MonoSpace®, launched in 1996, was by far the most environmentally friendly elevator of its time. In 1998 KONE moved towards sustainable construction, and MonoSpace® was the star of the 5-story “Eyecatcher” green building at Swissbau99 in Basel in 1999. The next year we launched the ECO3000™ escalator and sponsored a sustainable building workshop at Expo2000 in Hanover. Today many KONE companies are ISO14001 certified. /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image094.jpg KONE Elevators’ senior management moved in 1991 to a new European business headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. The logic behind the move was to the impossibility of convincing a sufficient number of senior staff members to relocate to Finland from other countries. As the Helsinki region became more cosmopolitan, and the KONE Building opened in Espoo in 2001, the senior management team was able to return to Finland. /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image093.jpg KONE’s president Heikki Herlin believed in celebrating good news. Each time the Helsinki factory’s order volume reached a new 1000-elevator total, he treated the entire factory’s staff to coffee and cake. Elevator number 1,000 was booked in 1928 before he became president, but celebrations were held for subsequent milestones right up until 1958. By 1960, when the 9,000th order was celebrated, orders were coming in so fast that the tradition was allowed to lapse. /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image092.jpg KONE first entered Asia in 1975 with initiatives in Singapore and the Philippines. With the acquisition of Marryat & Scott in 1979 came subsidiaries in Hong Kong and Singapore. Crane companies in Malaysia and Singapore were added in 1980. Then followed openings in Taiwan (1991), Thailand (1993), and Indonesia (1994). Elevators were sold into China from Hong Kong until the Kunshan factory opened in 1998. Today, Asia is KONE’s fastest-growing market area. /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image091.jpg The KONE MonoSpace® concept was launched in March 1996. By the end of 1999, 20,000 units had been ordered, and by February 2002, a total of 50,000 had been sold. The pace continued to quicken until the 100,000 barrier was broken in April 2005. By the end of 2009, more than 325,000 units had been sold, and MonoSpace® order volume, despite the depressed housing market in most countries, had increased to a gargantuan 50,000 units per annum. /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image090.jpg In celebration of the company’s 100th anniversary, KONE has created a custom-made elevator for the Finland Pavilion at the 2010 World Expo. Combining innovative technologies and cutting-edge design, the elevator serves both as an exhibition piece and a functional elevator for the pavilion. As illustrated in the picture, the car’s flooring is a ceramic artwork designed by Finnish artists Karin Widnäs and Pekka Paikkari. The signalization represents KONE Design Team’s award-winning component design. /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image089.jpg One of KONE’s strengths in the 1970s and 1980s was warehouse automation. By combining advanced automation and hoisting technology, KONE developed systems such as the automatic batch-picker (pictured). Instead of people climbing ladders in cold warehouse conditions to find and pull the items needed to fill an order, this batch-picker could do the job automatically. It was incorporated as AWA Advanced Warehouse Automation Ltd. in 1990 and subsequently sold. /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image088.jpg Not satisfied with having eliminated the machine room, in 2004 KONE’s R&D engineers went one step further and did away with the counterweight. KONE MaxiSpace™ is an elevator solution that makes it possible to install a cabin up to one-third larger than that of a traditional elevator. Ideal for modernization applications, it can suddenly make a rather cramped building into a wheelchair and pram friendly space. /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image087.jpg The word “kone” means “machine” in Finnish, but meanings can be found in other languages as well. In different languages, it can be understood – or misunderstood – in many different ways: in Albanian, for example, it means “puppy; in Danish and Norwegian it means “wives”; and in Slovakian, “horses”! /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image086.jpg Antti Herlin, shown here with China’s vice president of the state council, Wu Bang Guo, had little experience in the elevator and escalator business when he became KONE’s CEO in 1996, but he succeeded in doubling KONE’s value in one swift move when he acquired Partek for approximately 1.5 billion Euros. /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image085.jpg Heikki H. Herlin patented a number of inventions, including a highly successful log-bundle crane (pictured). The crane carried logs across dams or locks, thereby making it possible to float logs from logging sites to sawmills or pulping mills even when man-made obstacles interrupted the waterway. A good indication that from KONE’s earliest days, customer focus has produced practical solutions to the challenges facing our clients. /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image084.jpg KONE’s first U.S. subsidiary, Armor Elevator, finally broke into the Manhattan high-rise market in the mid-1980s with the installation of seven gearless elevators at 767 Third Avenue. Half a dozen more significant mid-town installations followed and then came the modernization of the U.N. Secretariat building’s elevators. By the end of the 1980s, when KONE acquired Flynn-Hill Elevator, the company had finally established itself in this extremely competitive market. /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image083.jpg When World War II ended, the peace agreement stipulated that Finland had to pay $300 million in reparations to the Soviet Union, in the form of capital goods. KONE’s share originally amounted to 100 goods elevators, 200 cranes and 72 electric hoists. Although these totals were later reduced, the demand forced KONE to upgrade its manufacturing capabilities substantially. As a result, KONE was considerably stronger when the program was completed in 1952. /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image082.jpg KONE moved its crane assembly operations to Hyvinkää in 1943 while Finland was engaged in the Continuation War. The Helsinki factory was not really suitable for crane assembly, and the bombing of the city made things even more difficult. The new factory was built that winter, and cranes had to be assembled outdoors during the construction. By late 1944, the building was enclosed and heated, making the welders’ and assemblers’ work considerably more comfortable. /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image081.jpg With the acquisition of Montgomery Elevator Company of the United States in 1994 and O&K Rolltreppen in 1996, KONE became the world’s leading escalator supplier. When these two companies combined their knowledge, the results were industry-leading innovations such as the energy-saving ECO3000® escalator, the KONE EcoMod™ full escalator modernization solution, and the KONE InnoTrack™ autowalk. /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image080.jpg It took KONE longer than many of its competitors to decide on an entry strategy for China, but once the decision was made, no time was wasted. Instead of entering a joint venture with an existing Chinese elevator maker, the company decided to build a production facility from scratch on the yellow patch of ground behind the flags in the picture. KONE’s factories were opened on this former rice field in Kunshan in 1998 (less than two years after the picture was taken). /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image079.jpg KONE’s first electric hoists, designed by engineers Juho Lindroos and Erik Ingvall, were introduced in the late 1930s and mass-produced from 1939 on. They became an important part of KONE’s contribution to Finland’s war reparations to the Soviet Union. During post-war reconstruction, factories, warehouses and logistics centers ordered hoists of varying capacity to help move the increasing volume of goods required to meet emerging demand. /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image078.jpg During World War II, most of KONE’s production capacity was converted to serve Finland’s defense effort. Lathes and other machining tools were moved into bomb shelters and used to turn out munitions such as the mortar shells in this picture. KONE also made gas converters for cars and trucks in the period when importing fuel was virtually impossible. The company sadly lost 26 employees in total to the Winter and Continuation Wars (the conflicts in Finland between 1939 and 1944). /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image077.jpg Modernization work can be challenging for other than technical reasons. When the site is a cultural landmark, such as the Raffles Hotel in Singapore, where KONE modernized the facilities in 2008, extraordinary efforts must be made to preserve its style and architectural integrity. Around the world some governmental or military sites require KONE’s workers to acquire security clearance. Some places of worship may even insist that only true believers be allowed on site. /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image076.jpg KONE’s president and board chairman Heikki H. Herlin was active at a global level in organizations such as Rotary International and Moral Re-Armament (MRA). He served Rotary as chairman of its European, North African and East Mediterranean Advisory Committee and joined the board of directors of Rotary International in 1951. The contacts he made through these organizations proved useful to KONE as operations spread from Finland around the world. /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image075.jpg During the late 1970s and early 1980s, KONE got into the bulk materials handling business in a big way. During that time the company delivered numerous turnkey projects, ranging from the Minjingu phosphate-mining complex in Tanzania, cranes and conveyors for Jahor Port in Malaysia, and coal handling for the Soma power plant in Turkey to a fully automated stone crushing plant for a customer in Sweden. /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image074.jpg KONE’s automated grinder-feeding system for pulp mills, developed in 1967 by Osmo Ivanto, became an essential component for all modern wood rooms. KONE was already delivering cranes to pulp and paper mills, and by 1984 the total production of wood handling equipment justified the establishment of a new division, KONE Wood, which eventually developed the capacity to supply entire wood yards and wood rooms. /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image073.jpg KONE’s modernization business advanced significantly at the end of the 1980s when Drolet KONE of Canada undertook the renovation of 40 high-speed Otis elevators in the 43-story Place Ville Marie, Montreal, the flagship building of the Trizec Corporation. KONE replaced the existing facilities with TMS 900 equipment featuring our Static Converter Drive, using TMS Modernization Overlay to ensure optimal service for the fully occupied buildings during the work process. /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image072.jpg KONE began manufacturing its own electric motors in 1935. Before that, the company had used motors produced by its previous owner, Strömberg. The move to in-house production ensured the quality of the entire installation and made a selling point of the one-factory approach. This philosophy was a cornerstone of KONE’s new equipment business until technological and business developments ushered in a wave of outsourcing at the end of the 20th century. /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image071.jpg Spreading across 320 hectares in the heart of Shanghai, more than 70 million visitors from around the globe are expected to visit the world’s largest Expo ever in Shanghai between May and October 2010. KONE is proud to be one of the biggest suppliers of elevators and escalators for the Expo. In total, KONE is providing solutions to 21 pavilions, making it the largest supplier by the number of pavilions served. KONE will supply the Expo with a total of 34 escalators and 59 elevators. /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image070.jpg ASEA-Graham installed three elevators in Berlin’s 365m TV Tower in 1967 and was acquired by KONE the following year. By the time KONE got the contract for full modernization of the units in 1995, the original drawings were lost, so KONE invited original team members Rune Wassholm (who had since retired) and Arvid Ericsson back to help plan the challenging job. The Fernseturm was for many years the tallest structure served by KONE elevators. /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image069.jpg KONE elevators and escalators ensure smooth, safe and comfortable transportation during the annual Hajj when over two million pilgrims gather in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. KONE Middle East’s recent outstanding references also include the Gate Towers, the Yas Marina Circuit Race Track, the ALDAR headquarters and the Adnec Feature Towers in Abu Dhabi; the Elite Residences, Maydan Hotel, Meydan Racecourse, and Infinity Tower in Dubai; and the Al-Faisal Tower, Dubai Tower and Infinity Tower in Qatar. /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image068.jpg From 1994 to 2009, KONE reduced its frequency rate of industrial injuries by a factor of 7: the current figure is 5.2 absence-incurring injuries per million hours worked. This outstanding result has been achieved by a rigorous approach to accident prevention, global company-wide commitment and the implementation of concrete safety improvement measures. /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image067.jpg The best way to get to the subway in New York, the underground in London, the metro in Delhi, Beijing, Tokyo, Stockholm, Singapore, Rome, and a host of other cities is… on a KONE escalator or elevator! With energy and environmental issues becoming more critical, and half the world’s population living in urban areas, the importance of public transportation is growing all the time, as is KONE’s role in making it safe and easy to access. /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image066.jpg Fans who attended the Beijing Olympics, the final game of the 2009 World Series at Yankee Stadium, and the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix all used KONE escalators or elevators to get to their seats: KONE has supplied equipment to dozens of the world’s premier sports venues. 2010 will see deliveries to three World Cup stadia in South Africa, the Nad Al Sheba Racecourse in Dubai, and the Rectangular Stadium in Melbourne, to be followed by Warsaw’s National Stadium in 2011. /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image065.jpg KONE is committed to understanding the needs of its different customers, when specifying, purchasing, installing, maintaining and modernizing an elevator or escalator. KONE’s key customer segments are authorities, architects, technical consultants, builders, developers, building owners and facility managers. KONE also focuses on understanding the special requirements of different building segments, in order to guarantee the optimal solution for each building. The main building segments for KONE are residential, office, retail, hotel, infrastructure and medical. KONE serves special buildings like ships, leisure and education facilities, and industrial buildings, too. /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image064.jpg KONE’s Innotrack™, introduced in 2006, is the world’s first autowalk that requires no pit and can be installed on a fully finished floor. This is not only easier and cheaper to install than traditional autowalks, but its modular construction also makes it considerably more flexible. With no oil in the drive unit or on the power chain and its energy-saving KONE PowerDisc® Drive, Innotrack™ is also the most environmentally friendly autowalk on the market. /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image063.jpg At any one time, more people are traveling in KONE elevators than in all the airplanes of all the airlines in the world. KONE has about 750,000 elevators, escalators and autowalks in service. Since some of these serve only a few people each day and some carry tens of thousands, we could estimate that KONE’s equipment moves some 300-500 million people daily. If that is the case, KONE is moving the equivalent of the world’s population every month! /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image062.jpg Although KONE itself is now a century old, the company’s origins go back even further. Thanks to extensive acquisitions, the global organization includes a number of companies older than KONE itself. The German elevator producer Hävemeier & Sander, for example, was founded in 1873! Other “old boys” include Graham Brothers of Sweden (begun in 1887), Elevators Pty. of Australia (1889), and Belgian firm Jaspar (1890). /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image061.jpg KONE not only creates the world’s most energy-efficient elevators - the company also helps others to produce renewable energy. For example, KONE installed an elevator in a wind turbine known as the Eye of the Wind on Grouse Mountain, British Columbia. The structure’s 65m tower features a 360-degree observation deck overlooking Vancouver. The rotation of the tower’s 37m-long blades can produce 1.5 megawatts of power, enough to fulfill the electricity needs of 400 homes. /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image060.jpg KONE installed six Monospace® and four MiniSpace® elevators as well as two escalators and two autowalks under the Janiculum Hill in Rome in 1999. The six-story garage was built to make the Vatican a more welcoming site for visitors during its Jubilee Year (2000) as well as to serve the nearby Pediatric Hospital of Rome. /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image059.jpg KONE’s factory in Kunshan, China opened in October 1998. Less than ten years later, the complex delivered its 10,000th escalator. Today, China accounts for more than half the world’s new escalator market. KONE’s Kunshan factory and joint venture with Toshiba, which also has significant escalator-manufacturing capacity in China, ensure that the growing demand in Asia will be met. /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image058.jpg KONE’s Prince, John Simon’s biography of Pekka Herlin, was one of the best-selling non-fiction books in Finland in 2009 and is one of the country’s all-time best-selling biographies. Interest in the Herlin family and its contribution to Finland’s development as a modern industrial nation continues to be strong: the documentary program on KONE, The Sky’s the Limit, was given a repeat broadcast during 2010. /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image057.jpg The first microprocessors used in KONE elevators were originally developed by Asko Martio at KONE subsidiary Ollituote (later KONE Instruments) for use in EKG (electrocardiography) analysis. The microprocessor unit his team designed in 1972, OMS, was later adapted for analyzing elevator hall and car calls. It became the brains of one of the most successful elevator control systems ever, the KONE TMS 500 (pictured). /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image056.jpg KONE and Nokia first established a joint representative office, which went by the name of “NOKO”, in Moscow in 1971. In this photo, KONE board chairman Heikki H. Herlin and his wife Anna are shown arriving for the official opening of the “new office”, which replaced the previous facilities in 1984. After the NOKO cooperation ended in 1997, KONE continued to use the facilities for a while as administrative headquarters for its Moscow operations. /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image055.jpg The 500th anniversary of Columbus’ historic transatlantic voyage was celebrated in his native Genoa by the restoration and redevelopment of its port area, as designed by architect Renzo Piano. New constructions included a huge floating aquarium in the harbor and an 8-masted installation entitled “Il Grande Bigo”. KONE Sabiem built a spectacular 65-passenger shaftless elevator that rises to the top of the tallest mast – “Bigo” is a huge tourist attraction to this day. /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image054.jpg KONE had an elevator and electric hoist factory as well as sales, installation and maintenance services in South America from 1975 onwards, at which point the company purchased Brazil’s Elevadores Induco. Further acquisitions led to a KONE presence in Venezuela, and strong local representaion also developed in Chile and Argentina. Lack of expansion possibilities led to withdrawal from South America in 2001: KONE’s business was sold to Thyssen-Krupp. /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image053.jpg After the 1973 global oil crisis, a new generation of supertankers was born. To handle these giant vessels, shipyards began ordering larger and more powerful cranes. In 1976, KONE delivered a 900-ton gantry crane with a rail span of 153 meters, a total height of 105 meters, and three machines capable of hoisting 300 tons each, to a shipyard in Gdynia, Poland. Once installed, it became the largest crane in Europe at that time. /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image052.jpg KONE was a leader in developing static converter drives (SCDs) in the early 1980s. Until that time, rotating motor-generator sets were used to drive high-speed elevators, but they consumed lots of energy, were noisy, and required numerous part replacements. Matti Kähkipuro and his team drew on the company’s combined expertise to develop the KONE SCD, the best drive on the market at the time, providing a quiet, energy-efficient and maintenance-free solution. /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image051.jpg The world’s largest passenger ship, Oasis of the Seas, is served by 25 KONE MonoSpace® and 16 KONE MiniSpace® elevators, which help its 5,400 passengers move between the 16 decks and 2,700 staterooms of the vessel. Oasis of the Seas is owned by Royal Caribbean International and sails from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, U.S.A. KONE Marine is also supplying all the elevators for the vessel’s sister ship, Allure of the Seas, which will be completed in the autumn 2010. /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image050.jpg KONE’s cooperation with its Japanese partner, Toshiba Elevator and Building Systems Corporation (TELC), dates back to the two firms’ initial contact in 1982. The sale of components to Toshiba began in 1995, followed by a breakthrough order of 57 elevators for the Tokyo Metro in 1997. In 2001, the companies formed an alliance that included cross-ownership and a license for TELC to use KONE technologies in its own elevators. /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image049.jpg Heikki Hugo Herlin (1901-1989) served KONE as president (1932-1964), board member (1928-1989), and board chairman (1941-1987). He guided the company through the Great Depression and World War II, added cranes and hoists to the product line, and made equipment maintenance and repair central to KONE’s business strategy. His grandson, Antti Herlin, is the current chairman of the board. /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image048.jpg Munkkiniemi Manor in Helsinki is KONE Corporation’s official headquarters. Built in 1815, the building had become completely dilapidated by the time KONE purchased it in 1967. The entire KONE administration was housed there between 1967 and 1971, when a new KONE office building was built in Munkkiniemi. Today, the manor contains the offices of Antti Herlin, chairman of the board, and it makes a convenient location for board meetings. /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image047.jpg The first KONE elevators made using Finnish components were installed in 1918 in the Helsinki area. Prior to that, KONE had imported elevators from Sweden under a license from Graham Brothers. The oldest KONE elevator still in service – it was the 13th delivered by KONE – was installed in 1919 at the Helsinki address Freesenkatu 3. Starting with an annual production of 4 elevators in 1918, the company increased this to 100 in 1924, and was cranking out one a day by 1928. /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image046.jpg In 1980, KONE France started looking for additional work for maintenance technicians in rural locations with only a few elevators. Their solution was to offer maintenance of pedestrian and industrial doors. Since then, automatic building door service has become an important component of KONE’s offering: the company currently has approximately 350,000 doors under maintenance contract across a dozen countries. /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image045.jpg In 1999, experts were predicting catastrophic consequences worldwide as a result of “the millennium bug”. Would computerized elevators shut down at the stroke of midnight? On New Year’s Eve, instead of partying, many KONE employees were strategically stationed around their cities to assist people who might become trapped if entire systems suddenly failed. It never happened: in the end, the “Y2K” scare proved to be an expensive false alarm. /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image044.jpg KONE has run its own Technical Training School in Hyvinkää, Finland since 1951. The school is approved by Finland’s Ministry of Education and is the only technical training school dedicated to the study of elevators in Northern Europe. Nearly 2,000 graduates have gone on to work for KONE, many of them rising to positions of considerable responsibility within the company. /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image043.jpg KONE was the first company in Northern Europe, and perhaps even on the entire continent, to begin using commercial databases such as Lockheed’s “Dialog” to improve the company’s knowledge of its markets and competitors. Long before the age of the Internet, KONE’s Infoservice unit, founded in 1974, was acquiring and distributing business-related information. You might say that Infoservice was one of the first in-house “Googles”. /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image042.jpg KONE serves 66 major airports around the world with thousands of elevators, escalators and autowalks to help passengers get to their aircraft safely and comfortably. In most of the world’s busiest airports you will find KONE equipment hard at work. The list includes London’s Heathrow & Gatwick, Beijing’s Capital International, Chicago’s O’Hare, and many, many more. /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image041.jpg In 1998, the newly-opened 333m test shaft at KONE’s high-rise laboratory in Lohja, Finland became the tallest elevator test facility in the world. It is located in a former limestone mine and can test elevators with speeds up to 17m/s. The mine’s intricate network of shafts and tunnels are perfectly suited to the efficient installation of elevator testing equipment. /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image040.jpg Global operations can lead to unpredictable difficulties. In translating instructions for adjusting a DC commutator from Finnish to Portuguese, the technical instructions gave a literal translation of the Finnish word for “clockwise” (‘myötäpäivä’, meaning ‘in the direction the sun moves’). When the instructions were put into use in Brazil, the result was a twist in the wrong direction. Why? Well, although clocks appear to turn in the same direction in both hemispheres, the sun does not! /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image039.jpg The only way to get heavy equipment to the Diavik Diamond Mine in Canada’s Northwest Territories is to wait for the surrounding lakes and bogs to freeze, and use the 600km ice road that is opened through the wilderness for 8-10 weeks each winter. During the mine’s construction, which took 2 years, Diavik transported over 7,000 truckloads of fuel, construction material, cement, and steel - as well as KONE elevator equipment - via this rather unusual route. /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image038.jpg KONE Corporation was awarded a Good Design award for its innovative KONE Design Collection in 2008. In 2009, KONE was again awarded a Good Design award; now for its sleek KONE Design Signalization series. KONE is still the only elevator and escalator company who has ever received a Good Design award in the past 60 years. Founded in 1950, Good Design award is renowned as one of the most recognized design award programs in the world. /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image037.jpg Elevators are officially the safest mode of everyday transportation. For example, the fatality rate of car travel in the U.S.A. is around 10 deaths per billion passenger miles traveled, while the respective figure for elevators is 0.035. This means that a passenger is nearly 300 times less likely to be involved in a fatal accident in an elevator than in a car. /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image036.jpg KONE began using computers in the mid-1960s, locating the company at the leading edge of European manufacturing. The main applications at the time were stock control, crane construction, and various operational calculations. The first computer acquired by KONE was an IBM 360. /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image035.jpg In 1743, Louis XV, King of France, ordered a personal elevator to be built using counterweights in the Versailles Palace, connecting his chambers to those of his mistress, Marie-Anne, Madame de Chateauroux. This may have been the first elevator in any building to be specifically designed for human passengers. The relationship ended when Madame de Chateauroux died in 1744, widely suspected of having been poisoned by the king’s next mistress, Madame de Pompadour. /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image034.jpg Sometimes following instructions in detail leads to unexpected results. In the late 1970s, a KONE factory in Hyvinkää placed a large order for elevator operating panel buttons which read: “80 buttons engraved with 1, 2, 3, etc.” When the buttons arrived, they were engraved with the numbers 1, 2, 3, and, to the surprise of the person opening the box, the abbreviation “etc.” /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image033.jpg KONE ALTS (Advanced Lift Traffic Simulator), developed in the mid-1980s, has set the industry standard in providing accurate traffic simulation for planning elevator installation and modernization. It helps customers to plan their elevators correctly and also shows them how changes in their building’s use (for example, relocating the restaurant from one floor to another) can significantly alter elevator requirements. /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image032.jpg Management training has been a KONE priority since 1972. Professor Reijo Luostarinen of the Helsinki School of Economics has stated that KONE resembles a practical university, and that the company’s internal training is stronger and at a higher level than that of any other Finnish company. /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image031.jpg You would probably have difficulty naming or even recognizing the 10 fastest-growing cities in the world. According to the U.K.’s Telegraph Media Group, the countries that will grow fastest between 2006 and 2020, are 1) Beihai, China; 2) Ghaziabad, India; 3) Sana’a, Yemen; 4) Surat, India; 5) Kabul, Afganistan; 6) Bamoko, Mali; 7) Faridabad, India; 8) Lagos, Nigeria; 9) Dar es Salaam, Tanzania; and 10) Chittagong, Bangladesh. /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image030.jpg KONE, in 1991, was one of the first companies in Europe to organize an Employee Forum for consultation and communication. The Forum brings together management and employee representatives to discuss issues ranging from safety to outsourcing. A smaller working group meets more often to ensure continuous consultation and communication on important developments affecting personnel. /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image029.jpg KONE’s dedicated “lifties” occasionally retire after 50 years on the job, but Frank Cleave was in a class of his own. He joined Marryat & Place in 1919, moved to Bennie Lifts in 1933, and stayed on when KONE acquired them in 1985. In 1986, he was still on the job after 67 years in the industry, even cycling to work during a rail strike. Asked why he hadn’t retired, he replied: “I don’t feel old, and I’m still interested in the work.” /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image028.jpg KONE ran children’s summer camps from 1947 until 1952, as workers had to spend their summers fulfilling the company’s share of Finland’s war reparations to the Soviet Union, and they became KONE tradition thereafter. Global youth camps for KONE employees’ children around the world started in 1979 and continue today. KONE Camp takes in 100 14-17 year olds each summer from 25-30 countries, helping them to develop their language and teamwork skills while having fun along the way! /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image027.jpg The market for new elevators is China is currently bigger than those of Europe, the USA, and Japan combined. With only one elevator per 1000 people, however, China’s per capita elevator use is still far behind that of Western Europe, which is approximately 10 times greater. /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image026.jpg KONE MonoSpace® is the first elevator to include LED lighting systems as standard. LED lighting reduces energy consumption by more than 80% in comparison with traditional elevator lighting technologies, such as halogen spots. KONE now offers various LED solutions with special KONE design features, enabling building owners to achieve long-term savings and energy reduction without having to sacrifice style. /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image025.jpg The ingenious TMS900 Modernization Overlay (MO) catapulted KONE into elevator modernization business leadership. The MO process used auxiliary control and drive units to keep elevator groups performing while the original drives and controls were removed and replaced, and individual elevators were taken out of service for upgrading. Even with one unit out of service, a bank of five high-speed elevators in MO mode would usually still outperform the original installation. /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image024.jpg Commonly referred to as “elevator music” because it can be heard in so many elevators across the world, Muzak (a registered trademark of Muzak LLC) has provided a background of bland, soothing music in settings as diverse as hospitals, offices and NASA space missions since 1936. /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image023.jpg KONE CEO Pekka Herlin and his boat, Lygaia, were dominant figures in North European sailing, winning the Baltic Race in 1968 and the Gotland Runt in 1969. One expert wrote: “For good reason, Lygaia can be called the best Finnish open-sea-racing sailboat of all time.” Remarkably, in 1968 Herlin also found time to take KONE international by purchasing Swedish company ASEA’s elevator business, a company whose annual elevator sales were double those of KONE. /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image022.jpg The world’s longest single-span escalator, at 155m, is at the Wheaton Station of the Washington D.C. Metro in the USA. The world's longest multi-span escalator installation, at nearly 250m with a vertical rise of 135m, is Hong Kong’s Central-Mid-Levels escalator system. The shortest escalator, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, is at the Okadaya Mores shopping mall in Kawasaki, Japan and has a vertical rise of only 83cm. /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image021.jpg Nathan Ames (1859) and Leamon Souder (1889) held the first patents for escalators, but nothing based on these designs was ever built. Jesse Reno finally installed the first operational escalator at the Old Iron Pier, Coney Island, New York in 1896. In 1898, the French manufacturer Piat installed an escalator at Harrod’s store in Knightsbridge, London. The first commercial escalator, produced in 1899 by Elisha Graves Otis and designed by Charles Seeberger, won first prize at the 1900 World Exposition in Paris. /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image020.jpg KONE holds 1,000 patents for inventions and currently adds some 70 a year to the total. The company has always prided itself on developing proprietary solutions, and a strong patent is the only way to protect that valuable intellectual property. Patent protection became especially important from 1996, when KONE introduced the first commercially viable machine-room-less elevator, the KONE MonoSpace®, powered by KONE EcoDisc®. /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image019.jpg Elisha Graves Otis didn’t invent the elevator, but rather the elevator safety brake in 1853. As a result of his invention, the building of skyscrapers became possible. At the Crystal Palace Exposition, he rose above the crowd on a hoisted platform and then cut the ropes with an axe. His platform fell mere inches before coming to a sharp halt, and modern elevator travel was born. /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image018.jpg The distance between the northernmost and southernmost elevators in service in KONE Australia and New Zealand’s western region is some 2600km. If a service technician were to leave Hedland Senior School 1800km north of Perth after a service visit and set out for the two units in Esperance, 800km south of Perth, his route would cover approximately the same distance as if he were sent from Copenhagen to check on elevators in Madrid! /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image017.jpg Once popular for their superior traffic-handling capacity, non-stop paternoster elevators have been gradually phased out of use. They got their name from the chain of open cars, resembling beads on a rosary, which loop continuously through adjoining shafts. Passengers stepped on or off the moving cars, and those who missed their stop could ride over the top as the cars were suspended from the cable rather than fixed to it. As you might guess, safety standards have moved on since! /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image016.jpg You’ll be amazed to learn that over the years KONE and its subsidiaries have produced items as diverse as oil-spill recovery vessels, railway car pulling machines, emergency room patient monitors, self-cleaning chicken cages (!), ice-skate blades, and even stockings! That’s what we like to call “flexibility”. /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image015.jpg As the 200th anniversary of the French Revolution (1789) approached, France celebrated by unveiling many new and refurbished buildings like the Grande Arche de la Défense, the Opéra Bastille, the Acquaboulevard, and the Louvre, all of which are served by KONE elevators and escalators. /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image014.jpg Archimedes apparently built an elevator in 236 B.C. but they were first mentioned in print some 200 years later when Vitruvius, a Roman architect, listed one alongside various other hoists, cranes and pulleys. It was probably a block-and-tackle device for lifting heavy objects. /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image013.jpg The country with the most installed elevators and escalators in service at the end of 2008 was China, with over a million units in operation and an annual increase of about 250,000 per year. The other countries in the top ten were the USA (1,000,000), Italy (850,000), Spain, (750,000), Japan (700,000), Germany (650,000), Russia (500,000), France (500,000), South Korea (350,000), and Greece (300,000). The global total of elevators in operation exceeded nine million units! /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image012.jpg Elevators were considered a curiosity during the 19th century, but the introduction of steel frame construction allowed buildings like Manhattan’s 22-story Flatiron Building to rise to record heights in 1902. As buildings reached upwards, elevators became a necessity and part of the daily life of city folk. /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image011.jpg The tenants of Hong Kong’s Tak Cheong Building were so grateful to the KONE team working in their building that they presented them with gold medals. While the only elevator in the building was being modernized, KONE employees helped elderly tenants up the stairs and carried their groceries. And still finished the work three weeks ahead of schedule! /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image010.jpg Scheduled for completion in 2011, the Capital Gate Tower in Abu Dhabi will feature an intentional lean of 18% off center (compared to the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa, which leans just 4%). KONE will supply 16 elevators and two escalators to this 160m-tall building, which houses offices and residential apartments. /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image009.jpg The Gateway Arch in St. Louis, designed by Finnish architect Eero Saarinen, has 8 egg-shaped elevators installed by Montgomery Elevator (which became a KONE company in 1994). The cabins rotate at 5 degrees per second, giving a great view of this design masterpiece by the Mississippi river. /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image008.jpg 37 of the Toshiba elevators in what was, until recently, the world’s tallest building, the Taipei 101 tower in Taiwan, are powered by KONE EcoDisc® hoisting machines. The 101-story building’s fastest elevators travel at 17m/s. The new contender, the 162-story Burj Khalifa, has elevators traveling at 10m/s. /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image007.jpg KONE began producing harbor cranes in 1950 for Finnish ports. The company got into the business by replacing electric components in other manufacturers’ war-damaged cranes but by 1959, KONE had become a major supplier itself, delivering 20 harbor cranes to the City of Helsinki. /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image006.jpg KONE began as a subsidiary of A/B Gottfr. Strömberg Oy in 1910, which manufactured electric motors and machinery. KONE’s first workshop was an old stable, but in 1914, when the company began to make supplies for the Russian war effort, it moved to larger quarters in Helsinki’s Antinkatu. /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image005.jpg Since 1996, the KONE Monospace® elevator family has cumulatively saved the electricity production equivalent of a typical power plant. This is also equal to the consumption of 2,000,000 barrels of oil, or the emissions of 100,000 cars driving around the world (40,074km). KONE’s target for the near future is even more ambitious: to cut energy consumption of our volume elevators by 50% by 2010 (based on 2006 figures). /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image004.jpg KONE’s technical director from 1916 until 1947, Walter Jakobsson and his wife, Ludovika, were the 1920 Olympic mixed pairs skating gold medalists. Still the only Finnish ice-skaters to bring home Olympic gold, they were also crowned World Champions in 1911, 1914, and 1923! /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image003.jpg KONE’s Pekka Kivi was detained in 1982 during the Iran-Iraq War at Baghdad airport and interrogated as a potential spy as he had a briefcase full of sensitive listening devices, sensors, and recording equipment with him. Kivi had gone to Baghdad to check the ride comfort of recent KONE installations, and the briefcase contained ride-comfort testing equipment. After more than an hour of questioning, deep in security rooms below the airport, he was allowed to leave. /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image002.jpg Today, the world’s 10 largest countries by population are: 1) China, 2) India, 3) U.S.A., 4) Indonesia, 5) Brazil, 6) Pakistan, 7) Bangladesh, 8) Nigeria, 9) Russia, and 10) Japan. China and India together account for three of every eight people on the planet! /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/image001.jpg The highest elevator in Europe was installed in the Aiguille du Midi in 1965, and has been renovated twice by KONE (the second time it became a TMS 600 V3F traveling at 3.5m/s). Standing in the shadow of Mt. Blanc, the elevator rises 62m to a height of 3842m, carrying skiers and tourists from the Chamonix cable car to a restaurant in the clouds. KONE Corporation, press release October 27, 2010
KONE celebrates today its journey of a century. As an industrial engineering company, the company has been involved in many diverse businesses, but always maintaining the elevator and escalator business as its main focus. It has become an industry leading company with innovative, safe and eco-efficient solutions to deliver the best People Flow experience.

Global leading elevator and escalator company KONE has come a long way the last 100 years. From its start as a tiny machine shop in Helsinki, Finland, it has become a company with annual net sales of close to five billion euros, approximately 33,000 employees and operations worldwide. Today it is an acknowledged technology leader and has established itself as a major player in the world’s fastest growing markets as well as solidified its position in its traditional markets.

”Throughout its history, KONE has demonstrated an ability to adapt to a changing world and to create new opportunities for growth. Urbanization, aging population, and the increasing importance of safety are the challenges societies face today and even more increasingly in the future,” says Matti Alahuhta, President and CEO of KONE Corporation. “KONE wants to contribute to sustainable urban development with eco-efficient solutions that offer energy savings in buildings and enable the best user experience,” continues Alahuhta.

Short history of KONE

In 1908, a machine shop named Tarmo (“vigor”) opened in Helsinki. Tarmo’s owners incorporated their business as KONE (“machine”) Ltd. on October 27, 1910. The tiny machine shop was sold to Strömberg, a producer of electric motors and equipment as well as importer and installer of elevators. In the early 1920s, KONE turned to producing consumer products such as carbide lamps, coffee mills and blades for ice hockey skates. In 1924 KONE became an independent company as Strömberg, amid its financial difficulties, sold its shares to the Herlin family. In the following decades cranes and hoists were added to the product line and equipment maintenance and repair central to business strategy.

The new Hyvinkää factory was opened in 1967 with a capacity of 2,000 units per year, double the size of Finland’s total elevator market and far more than KONE’s total annual output at that time. KONE was set ready to become the first Finnish company to truly internationalize its operations. Its internationalization breakthrough occurred in 1968 with the acquisition of ASEA’s elevator business. In 1974 KONE took another gigantic leap forward with the acquisition of Westinghouse’s European elevator business. Mid 1970’s KONE was an elevator, crane and conveyor company. In the following years KONE expanded its operations into various businesses.

Mid-1990’s KONE divested its crane, wood-handling, cargo access and instrument businesses. In 1994, KONE purchased Montgomery Elevator Company, the fourth largest elevator company in the United States. It would later proceed to buy the remaining shareholding in its escalator partner, Germany’s O&K Rolltreppen. KONE also expanded its operations in the rapidly growing markets of China, India, Russia and Middle-East. In 1996, KONE made a technology breakthrough that would revolutionize the industry, by introducing the new hoisting machine of EcoDisc® and its machine-room-less elevator the MonoSpace®. Since 2005, KONE has outperformed the competition in terms of growth and profit margin improvement.

For further information, please contact:
Anne Korkiakoski, Executive Vice President, Marketing & Communications,
tel. +358 (0)204 75 4330
]]> /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/press03.jpg KONE celebrates today its journey of a century. As an industrial engineering company, the company has been involved in many diverse businesses, but always maintaining the elevator and escalator business as its main focus. It has become an industry leading company with innovative, safe and eco-efficient solutions to deliver the best People Flow experience.

Global leading elevator and escalator company KONE has come a long way the last 100 years. From its start as a tiny machine shop in Helsinki, Finland, it has become a company with annual net sales of close to five billion euros, approximately 33,000 employees and operations worldwide. Today it is an acknowledged technology leader and has established itself as a major player in the world’s fastest growing markets as well as solidified its position in its traditional markets.

”Throughout its history, KONE has demonstrated an ability to adapt to a changing world and to create new opportunities for growth. Urbanization, aging population, and the increasing importance of safety are the challenges societies face today and even more increasingly in the future,” says Matti Alahuhta, President and CEO of KONE Corporation. “KONE wants to contribute to sustainable urban development with eco-efficient solutions that offer energy savings in buildings and enable the best user experience,” continues Alahuhta.

Short history of KONE

In 1908, a machine shop named Tarmo (“vigor”) opened in Helsinki. Tarmo’s owners incorporated their business as KONE (“machine”) Ltd. on October 27, 1910. The tiny machine shop was sold to Strömberg, a producer of electric motors and equipment as well as importer and installer of elevators. In the early 1920s, KONE turned to producing consumer products such as carbide lamps, coffee mills and blades for ice hockey skates. In 1924 KONE became an independent company as Strömberg, amid its financial difficulties, sold its shares to the Herlin family. In the following decades cranes and hoists were added to the product line and equipment maintenance and repair central to business strategy.

The new Hyvinkää factory was opened in 1967 with a capacity of 2,000 units per year, double the size of Finland’s total elevator market and far more than KONE’s total annual output at that time. KONE was set ready to become the first Finnish company to truly internationalize its operations. Its internationalization breakthrough occurred in 1968 with the acquisition of ASEA’s elevator business. In 1974 KONE took another gigantic leap forward with the acquisition of Westinghouse’s European elevator business. Mid 1970’s KONE was an elevator, crane and conveyor company. In the following years KONE expanded its operations into various businesses.

Mid-1990’s KONE divested its crane, wood-handling, cargo access and instrument businesses. In 1994, KONE purchased Montgomery Elevator Company, the fourth largest elevator company in the United States. It would later proceed to buy the remaining shareholding in its escalator partner, Germany’s O&K Rolltreppen. KONE also expanded its operations in the rapidly growing markets of China, India, Russia and Middle-East. In 1996, KONE made a technology breakthrough that would revolutionize the industry, by introducing the new hoisting machine of EcoDisc® and its machine-room-less elevator the MonoSpace®. Since 2005, KONE has outperformed the competition in terms of growth and profit margin improvement.

For further information, please contact:
Anne Korkiakoski, Executive Vice President, Marketing & Communications,
tel. +358 (0)204 75 4330
KONE Corporation, press release April 30, 2010
KONE, one of the leading companies in the elevator and escalator industry, will be an active participant at the World Expo 2010 which opens May 1 in Shanghai, China. KONE is a National Partner for the Finland Pavilion at the World Expo 2010 and it is also providing solutions for 21 flagship pavilions. Furthermore, the company is responsible for maintaining over 500 elevators and escalators supporting the success of the World Expo.

As part of its national partnership with the Finland Pavilion, KONE has provided a custom-made elevator, which will play an integral part in the building’s high-tech look and feel. Combining innovative technologies and cutting-edge design, the elevator will serve both as an exhibition object as well as a mode of vertical transport. The company will be hosting thousands of its customers at its permanent showroom inside the pavilion.

A grand total of 59 elevators and 34 escalators were provided by KONE for 21 different pavilions. KONE’s People Flow solutions will serve visitors in the pavilions of Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Hong Kong, Ireland, London, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore and Spain as well as the China Aviation Pavilion, the Shanghai World Expo Culture Center, the Coca-Cola Pavilion, the Daming Palace Pavilion, the DevNet Pavilion, the State Grid Pavilion, the Expo Logistics Center, and the Expo's Information and Communication Pavilion.

Among KONE’s impressive Expo references, the Shanghai World Expo Culture Center will include 17 elevators and 26 escalators. Five of the elevators were installed already during the construction phase as freight elevators to help with the pavilion’s construction. The Culture Center is a permanent building and consists of a large central stage as well as a large functional hall which can house up to 18,000 guests for an event.

Expo visitors will actively use more than 500 elevators and escalators that are under KONE’s service. In addition to the Expo pavilions, KONE maintains key locations such as the Pudong airport, the Hongqiao transportation hub and several hotels in the Shanghai area.

“We are excited to play an integral role at the World Expo, one of the world’s most prestigious events,” says Matti Alahuhta, President & CEO, KONE Corporation. “The World Expo’s theme, ‘Better City, Better Life’, is a perfect match with KONE’s vision of providing energy efficient and user-friendly People Flow solutions for an increasingly urbanized world.”

The World Expo 2010 in Shanghai is being held between May and October 2010. It is expected to attract over 70 million visitors from around the globe. Over 200 countries and international organizations are present as exhibitors, marking this year’s World Expo as the largest in Expo history.

More information on KONE at the World Expo 2010:

Click here for images of the KONE elevator inside the Finland Pavilion.

Meet KONE at the World Expo for a media cocktail party at the Finland Pavilion on May 5 from 4– 6 p.m. To register email expo2010@kone.com.

KONE press office at Expo, International media +86 158 2166 4105/+358 400 308 484

KONE press office at Expo, Chinese media +86 21 22012 1006

About KONE

KONE, one of the global leaders in the elevator and escalator industry, was founded in 1910 and celebrates its centennial anniversary in 2010. The company’s objective is to offer the best people flow experience by developing and delivering solutions that enable people to move smoothly, safely, comfortably and without waiting in buildings in an increasingly urbanizing environment. Providing industry-leading elevators, escalators and innovative solutions for modernization and maintenance, KONE has been committed to understanding the needs of its customers in various segments for the past century. In 2009, KONE had annual net sales of EUR 4.7 billion and approximately 33,000 employees. KONE class B shares are listed on the NASDAQ OMX Helsinki Ltd in Finland.

www.kone.com
]]> /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/press02.jpg KONE, one of the leading companies in the elevator and escalator industry, will be an active participant at the World Expo 2010 which opens May 1 in Shanghai, China. KONE is a National Partner for the Finland Pavilion at the World Expo 2010 and it is also providing solutions for 21 flagship pavilions. Furthermore, the company is responsible for maintaining over 500 elevators and escalators supporting the success of the World Expo.

As part of its national partnership with the Finland Pavilion, KONE has provided a custom-made elevator, which will play an integral part in the building’s high-tech look and feel. Combining innovative technologies and cutting-edge design, the elevator will serve both as an exhibition object as well as a mode of vertical transport. The company will be hosting thousands of its customers at its permanent showroom inside the pavilion.

A grand total of 59 elevators and 34 escalators were provided by KONE for 21 different pavilions. KONE’s People Flow solutions will serve visitors in the pavilions of Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Hong Kong, Ireland, London, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore and Spain as well as the China Aviation Pavilion, the Shanghai World Expo Culture Center, the Coca-Cola Pavilion, the Daming Palace Pavilion, the DevNet Pavilion, the State Grid Pavilion, the Expo Logistics Center, and the Expo's Information and Communication Pavilion.

Among KONE’s impressive Expo references, the Shanghai World Expo Culture Center will include 17 elevators and 26 escalators. Five of the elevators were installed already during the construction phase as freight elevators to help with the pavilion’s construction. The Culture Center is a permanent building and consists of a large central stage as well as a large functional hall which can house up to 18,000 guests for an event.

Expo visitors will actively use more than 500 elevators and escalators that are under KONE’s service. In addition to the Expo pavilions, KONE maintains key locations such as the Pudong airport, the Hongqiao transportation hub and several hotels in the Shanghai area.

“We are excited to play an integral role at the World Expo, one of the world’s most prestigious events,” says Matti Alahuhta, President & CEO, KONE Corporation. “The World Expo’s theme, ‘Better City, Better Life’, is a perfect match with KONE’s vision of providing energy efficient and user-friendly People Flow solutions for an increasingly urbanized world.”

The World Expo 2010 in Shanghai is being held between May and October 2010. It is expected to attract over 70 million visitors from around the globe. Over 200 countries and international organizations are present as exhibitors, marking this year’s World Expo as the largest in Expo history.

More information on KONE at the World Expo 2010:

Click here for images of the KONE elevator inside the Finland Pavilion.

Meet KONE at the World Expo for a media cocktail party at the Finland Pavilion on May 5 from 4– 6 p.m. To register email expo2010@kone.com.

KONE press office at Expo, International media +86 158 2166 4105/+358 400 308 484

KONE press office at Expo, Chinese media +86 21 22012 1006

About KONE

KONE, one of the global leaders in the elevator and escalator industry, was founded in 1910 and celebrates its centennial anniversary in 2010. The company’s objective is to offer the best people flow experience by developing and delivering solutions that enable people to move smoothly, safely, comfortably and without waiting in buildings in an increasingly urbanizing environment. Providing industry-leading elevators, escalators and innovative solutions for modernization and maintenance, KONE has been committed to understanding the needs of its customers in various segments for the past century. In 2009, KONE had annual net sales of EUR 4.7 billion and approximately 33,000 employees. KONE class B shares are listed on the NASDAQ OMX Helsinki Ltd in Finland.

www.kone.com
KONE Corporation, press release February 11, 2010
“We are excited to have received orders from 13 additional pavilions at the Expo. These extra orders will significantly increase our company’s presence at one of the world’s most prestigious events,” says Anne Korkiakoski, Executive Vice President, Marketing & Communications, KONE. “The World Expo’s theme, ‘Better City, Better Life’, matches very well with KONE’s strategic vision of providing energy efficient and user-friendly people flow solutions for an increasingly urbanized world.”

Previously, KONE had announced that it would supply 30 elevators and 30 escalators for the pavilions of Australia, Finland, Hong Kong and Spain as well as the Shanghai World Expo Performing Arts Center, Pudong’s Logistics Center, the National Grid Enterprise Pavilion and the Expo’s Information and Communication Pavilion.

As part of its national partnership with the Finland pavilion, KONE is providing a custom-made elevator for the Finnish pavilion, which will play an integral part in the building’s high-tech look and feel. Combining innovative technologies and cutting-edge design, the elevator will serve both as an exhibition object as well as an elevator for the pavilion.

The 2010 World Expo in Shanghai is being held between May and October 2010. It is expected to attract over 70 million visitors from around the globe. Over 200 countries and international organizations are expected as exhibitors, marking this year’s World Expo as the largest in Expo history.

About KONE

KONE, one of the global leaders in the elevator and escalator industry, was founded in 1910 and celebrates its centennial anniversary in 2010. The company’s objective is to offer the best people flow experience by developing and delivering solutions that enable people to move smoothly, safely, comfortably and without waiting in buildings in an increasingly urbanizing environment.

Providing industry-leading elevators, escalators and innovative solutions for modernization and maintenance, KONE has been committed to understanding the needs of its customers in various segments for the past century. In 2009, KONE had annual net sales of EUR 4.7 billion and approximately 34,000 employees. KONE class B shares are listed on the NASDAQ OMX Helsinki Ltd in Finland.

www.kone.com

For further information, please contact:
Anne Korkiakoski, Executive Vice President, Marketing & Communications,
tel. +358 (0)204 75 4787 ]]> KONE, a National Partner for the Finland Pavilion at the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai, will supply an additional 27 elevators and 4 escalators for pavilions at the Expo. KONE will be providing people flow solutions for the pavilions of Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Ireland, London, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Singapore as well as the Aviation Pavilion, the Coca-Cola Pavilion, the Daming Palace Pavilion, the DevNet Pavilion and the State Electric Power Pavilion. With these additional orders, KONE will be providing a grand total of 57 elevators and 34 escalators for 21 pavilions at the World Expo.

“We are excited to have received orders from 13 additional pavilions at the Expo. These extra orders will significantly increase our company’s presence at one of the world’s most prestigious events,” says Anne Korkiakoski, Executive Vice President, Marketing & Communications, KONE. “The World Expo’s theme, ‘Better City, Better Life’, matches very well with KONE’s strategic vision of providing energy efficient and user-friendly people flow solutions for an increasingly urbanized world.”

Previously, KONE had announced that it would supply 30 elevators and 30 escalators for the pavilions of Australia, Finland, Hong Kong and Spain as well as the Shanghai World Expo Performing Arts Center, Pudong’s Logistics Center, the National Grid Enterprise Pavilion and the Expo’s Information and Communication Pavilion.

As part of its national partnership with the Finland pavilion, KONE is providing a custom-made elevator for the Finnish pavilion, which will play an integral part in the building’s high-tech look and feel. Combining innovative technologies and cutting-edge design, the elevator will serve both as an exhibition object as well as an elevator for the pavilion.

The 2010 World Expo in Shanghai is being held between May and October 2010. It is expected to attract over 70 million visitors from around the globe. Over 200 countries and international organizations are expected as exhibitors, marking this year’s World Expo as the largest in Expo history.

About KONE

KONE, one of the global leaders in the elevator and escalator industry, was founded in 1910 and celebrates its centennial anniversary in 2010. The company’s objective is to offer the best people flow experience by developing and delivering solutions that enable people to move smoothly, safely, comfortably and without waiting in buildings in an increasingly urbanizing environment.

Providing industry-leading elevators, escalators and innovative solutions for modernization and maintenance, KONE has been committed to understanding the needs of its customers in various segments for the past century. In 2009, KONE had annual net sales of EUR 4.7 billion and approximately 34,000 employees. KONE class B shares are listed on the NASDAQ OMX Helsinki Ltd in Finland.

www.kone.com

For further information, please contact:
Anne Korkiakoski, Executive Vice President, Marketing & Communications,
tel. +358 (0)204 75 4787 KONE Corporation, press release September 21, 2009
Specially prepared by KONE’s Design team in conjunction with the pavilion’s architects the elevator and its shaft structure were designed to replicate the effects of a Chinese lantern but with a Finnish twist. A sight in itself, the custom-built elevator cabin will include finely designed materials such as handmade ceramic artwork for the floor designed by well-known Finnish ceramists Karin Widnäs and Pekka Paikkari and a high quality semi-transparent glass from German glass experts, Schott. The elevator will also feature the latest in RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) technology which will enable the pavilion’s VIP guest to access the top floor.

“Our challenge was to seamlessly blend the elevator’s design with the look and feel of the pavilion’s beautiful architecture,” says Anne Stenros, Vice President, KONE Design. “The Finnish pavilion’s architecture is already unique in many ways. Our main goal was to come up with a design that not only complements the whole pavilion, but also enhances the pavilion’s ambiance. The result is a unique elevator interior and user experience which will change the way people look at elevator design.”

Designed by Helsinki architect firm JKMM, the Finnish pavilion “Kirnu” (or Giant’s Kettle) aims to build its exhibition around the elements of ‘a better life’ – well-being, competence and the environment – which also form a solid foundation for ‘a better city’. The pavilion will rise from the water as an island-like miniature city. A bridge will lead visitors over the water and into the pavilion.

Spreading 320 hectares in the heart of Shanghai, the expo is expecting 70 million visitors from around the globe between May and October 2010. Over 200 countries and international organizations are expected as exhibitors, marking next year’s World Expo as the largest in Expo history. ]]> KONE, an official National Partner for Finland’s “Kirnu” pavilion at the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai, is supplying the pavilion with a one-of-a-kind elevator inspired by the basic elements of Finland’s landscape and four seasons. The elevator, traveling vertically across the pavilion’s three floors, will be a highly visible and integral part of the Finnish pavilion as an exhibition piece.

Specially prepared by KONE’s Design team in conjunction with the pavilion’s architects the elevator and its shaft structure were designed to replicate the effects of a Chinese lantern but with a Finnish twist. A sight in itself, the custom-built elevator cabin will include finely designed materials such as handmade ceramic artwork for the floor designed by well-known Finnish ceramists Karin Widnäs and Pekka Paikkari and a high quality semi-transparent glass from German glass experts, Schott. The elevator will also feature the latest in RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) technology which will enable the pavilion’s VIP guest to access the top floor.

“Our challenge was to seamlessly blend the elevator’s design with the look and feel of the pavilion’s beautiful architecture,” says Anne Stenros, Vice President, KONE Design. “The Finnish pavilion’s architecture is already unique in many ways. Our main goal was to come up with a design that not only complements the whole pavilion, but also enhances the pavilion’s ambiance. The result is a unique elevator interior and user experience which will change the way people look at elevator design.”

Designed by Helsinki architect firm JKMM, the Finnish pavilion “Kirnu” (or Giant’s Kettle) aims to build its exhibition around the elements of ‘a better life’ – well-being, competence and the environment – which also form a solid foundation for ‘a better city’. The pavilion will rise from the water as an island-like miniature city. A bridge will lead visitors over the water and into the pavilion.

Spreading 320 hectares in the heart of Shanghai, the expo is expecting 70 million visitors from around the globe between May and October 2010. Over 200 countries and international organizations are expected as exhibitors, marking next year’s World Expo as the largest in Expo history. KONE Corporation, press release September 21, 2009
“We believe that our association with the Finnish pavilion is an ideal partnership considering the World Expo’s location and theme: Better City, Better Life,” says Matti Alahuhta, President & CEO, KONE. “The Chinese and other Asian markets are important markets for us and this is a great opportunity to be involved in history’s largest Expo ever. Next year also marks a special milestone in KONE’s history as we will be celebrating our company’s 100th anniversary. Many activities celebrating our centennial anniversary will be organized in conjunction with the World Expo’s Finnish pavilion.”

Designed by Helsinki architect firm JKMM, the Finnish pavilion “Kirnu” (or Giant’s Kettle) aims to build its exhibition around the elements of ‘a better life’ – well-being, competence and the environment – which also form a solid foundation for ‘a better city’. The pavilion will rise from the water as an island-like miniature city. A bridge will lead visitors over the water and into the pavilion.

Spreading 320 hectares in the heart of Shanghai, the expo is expected to receive 70 million visitors from around the globe. Over 200 countries and international organizations are expected as exhibitors, marking next year’s World Expo as the largest in Expo history. ]]> KONE, an innovative solutions provider in the elevator and escalator industry, will be the official National Partner for Finland’s “Kirnu” pavilion at the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai. As part of the cooperation, KONE is also providing a custom-made elevator for the pavilion, which will play an integral part in the pavilion’s state-of-the-art look and feel. Combining innovative technologies and cutting-edge design, the elevator will serve both as an exhibition object as well as an elevator for the pavilion.

“We believe that our association with the Finnish pavilion is an ideal partnership considering the World Expo’s location and theme: Better City, Better Life,” says Matti Alahuhta, President & CEO, KONE. “The Chinese and other Asian markets are important markets for us and this is a great opportunity to be involved in history’s largest Expo ever. Next year also marks a special milestone in KONE’s history as we will be celebrating our company’s 100th anniversary. Many activities celebrating our centennial anniversary will be organized in conjunction with the World Expo’s Finnish pavilion.”

Designed by Helsinki architect firm JKMM, the Finnish pavilion “Kirnu” (or Giant’s Kettle) aims to build its exhibition around the elements of ‘a better life’ – well-being, competence and the environment – which also form a solid foundation for ‘a better city’. The pavilion will rise from the water as an island-like miniature city. A bridge will lead visitors over the water and into the pavilion.

Spreading 320 hectares in the heart of Shanghai, the expo is expected to receive 70 million visitors from around the globe. Over 200 countries and international organizations are expected as exhibitors, marking next year’s World Expo as the largest in Expo history. KONE Corporation, press release September 21, 2009
KONE, an innovative solutions provider in the elevator and escalator industry, will supply over 30 elevators and 30 escalators for a variety of pavilions involved in the Shanghai 2010 World Expo. Until now, KONE’s participation in the World Expo includes equipment for the pavilions of Spain, Australia, Finland, and Hong Kong as well as the Shanghai World Expo Performing Arts Center, Pudong’s Logistics Center Equipment, the National Grid Enterprise Pavilion and the Expo’s Information and Communication Pavilion.

Further increasing its involvement in the Shanghai 2010 World Expo, KONE also announces that it will be a National Partner for the Finnish Pavilion. As part of the partnership, KONE will be providing a custom-made elevator for the pavilion, which will be play an integral part in the pavilion’s high-tech look and feel. Combining innovative technologies and cutting-edge design, the elevator will serve both as an exhibition object as well as a fully functioning elevator for the pavilion.

“Following KONE’s successful involvement in the 2008 Beijing Olympic installations, we are very proud to be part of an international event of this caliber once again,” says Matti Alahuhta, President & CEO, KONE. “The World Expo’s theme, ‘Better City, Better Life’, corresponds with KONE’s strategic vision of providing energy efficient and user friendly people flow solutions for an increasingly urbanized world.”

Being held between May and October 2010, the World Expo in Shanghai is expected to attract over 70 million visitors from around the globe. Over 200 countries and international organizations are expected as exhibitors, marking next year’s World Expo as the largest in Expo history. ]]> /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/press01.jpg KONE, an innovative solutions provider in the elevator and escalator industry, will supply over 30 elevators and 30 escalators for a variety of pavilions involved in the Shanghai 2010 World Expo. Until now, KONE’s participation in the World Expo includes equipment for the pavilions of Spain, Australia, Finland, and Hong Kong as well as the Shanghai World Expo Performing Arts Center, Pudong’s Logistics Center Equipment, the National Grid Enterprise Pavilion and the Expo’s Information and Communication Pavilion.

Further increasing its involvement in the Shanghai 2010 World Expo, KONE also announces that it will be a National Partner for the Finnish Pavilion. As part of the partnership, KONE will be providing a custom-made elevator for the pavilion, which will be play an integral part in the pavilion’s high-tech look and feel. Combining innovative technologies and cutting-edge design, the elevator will serve both as an exhibition object as well as a fully functioning elevator for the pavilion.

“Following KONE’s successful involvement in the 2008 Beijing Olympic installations, we are very proud to be part of an international event of this caliber once again,” says Matti Alahuhta, President & CEO, KONE. “The World Expo’s theme, ‘Better City, Better Life’, corresponds with KONE’s strategic vision of providing energy efficient and user friendly people flow solutions for an increasingly urbanized world.”

Being held between May and October 2010, the World Expo in Shanghai is expected to attract over 70 million visitors from around the globe. Over 200 countries and international organizations are expected as exhibitors, marking next year’s World Expo as the largest in Expo history.

100 stories 100 years' history World Expo 2010 Press releases

KONE 100 years press materials
KONE is celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2010 all over the world. This section on press-related materials will keep you updated on the latest news and events occurring during the year. Our media team is happy to help you with any queries you might have.

Further information on KONE can be found at the press section in our corporate pages
Click here for images of KONE solutions at Expo. ]]> /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/press_intro.jpg KONE is celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2010 all over the world. This section on press-related materials will keep you updated on the latest news and events occurring during the year. Our media team is happy to help you with any queries you might have.

Further information on KONE can be found at the press section in our corporate pages. Contact us Want to learn more about our anniversary year events and World Expo 2010? events.team@kone.com). ]]> Feel free to contact your local KONE representative or the events team (events.team@kone.com). The world's largest ever Expo
Now celebrating its 100th anniversary, KONE is proud to participate in the World Expo 2010 as the official national partner of the Finnish pavilion, Kirnu. KONE is also one of the biggest suppliers of elevators and escalators for the entire event. The World Expo 2010 in Shanghai will be held from May 1 until October 31, 2010 and the projected figure of 70 million visitors will make it the largest in the event’s history.

In these pages you’ll learn more about KONE’s participation in this spectacular event. Welcome to the world of Expo 2010! ]]> /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/Kirnu.jpg Now celebrating its 100th anniversary, KONE is proud to participate in the World Expo 2010 as the official national partner of the Finnish pavilion, Kirnu. KONE is also one of the biggest suppliers of elevators and escalators for the entire event. The World Expo 2010 in Shanghai will be held from May 1 until October 31, 2010 and the projected figure of 70 million visitors will make it the largest in the event’s history.

In these pages you’ll learn more about KONE’s participation in this spectacular event. Welcome to the world of Expo 2010!
KONE had provided 93 vertical transportation units for 21 different pavilions at this year’s 2010 World Expo in Shanghai. For the state-of-the-art State Grid Pavilion, KONE has provided three elevators and six escalators which enable visitors to access the upper and lower floors of this unique pavilion.

The State Grid Corporation Pavilion is designed as a ‘magic box’ with a crystal cube embedded inside. The theme of the pavilion is based on the relationship between electricity and daily life. A solar lighting system composed of 12 mirrors resembling sunflowers will illuminate the underground part of the pavilion. Covered by LED lights, the box will be shinning with colorful lighting all day around to provide visitors with a visual highlight and special experiences. The pavilion covers 4,000 square meters and the underground substation provides electricity to other pavilions in the area. In order to make full use of the Shanghai’s summer winds, the pavilion features a "Tunnel of Electric Current" where visitors are expected to have a one-of-a-kind experience that feels like they are moving inside the wires.

Located near the Theme Pavilion on the Puxi side of the World Expo area, the State Grid Pavilion can be easily reached by foot from the Lupu Bridge metro station. ]]>
KONE had provided 93 vertical transportation units for 21 different pavilions at this year’s 2010 World Expo in Shanghai. For the state-of-the-art State Grid Pavilion, KONE has provided three elevators and six escalators which enable visitors to access the upper and lower floors of this unique pavilion.

The State Grid Corporation Pavilion is designed as a ‘magic box’ with a crystal cube embedded inside. The theme of the pavilion is based on the relationship between electricity and daily life. A solar lighting system composed of 12 mirrors resembling sunflowers will illuminate the underground part of the pavilion. Covered by LED lights, the box will be shinning with colorful lighting all day around to provide visitors with a visual highlight and special experiences. The pavilion covers 4,000 square meters and the underground substation provides electricity to other pavilions in the area. In order to make full use of the Shanghai’s summer winds, the pavilion features a "Tunnel of Electric Current" where visitors are expected to have a one-of-a-kind experience that feels like they are moving inside the wires.

Located near the Theme Pavilion on the Puxi side of the World Expo area, the State Grid Pavilion can be easily reached by foot from the Lupu Bridge metro station.
Combining innovative technologies and cutting-edge design, the custom-designed elevator inside the Finland Pavilion is one of the building’s highlights. Read on to find out what inspired the KONE Design team responsible for this special project.

What was the main challenge when designing this special unique elevator?
Our main challenge was to seamlessly blend the elevator’s design with the look and feel of the pavilion’s beautiful architecture. The Finnish Pavilion’s architecture is already unique in many ways. Our main goal was to come up with a design that not only complements the whole pavilion, but also enhances the pavilion’s ambiance. The result is a unique elevator interior and user experience which will change the way people look at elevator design.

What was the inspiration behind the KONE elevator inside the Finland Pavilion?
The first inspiration for the elevator was, of course, the building itself – namely the overall simplicity and the compact form of the building. The idea was to create a highlight of the building, yet in a subtle way without disturbing the exhibition in the main hall. People tend to focus towards light, thus the lighting of the glass shaft and the elevator itself became a major theme. From there can be found the inspiration behind the “lantern” effect.

The elevator plays a prominent part in the pavilion, how did the KONE Design team make sure that both elements fitted together?
Actually we collaborated very closely with the architect of the pavilion, Teemu Kurkela. Those encounters were highly fruitful when we developed the concept of the lit elevator in the light shaft, for example. Teemu Kurkela also suggested contacting Karin Widnäs, the ceramist artist who created the beautiful and one-of-a-kind flooring for the elevator car.

What has been the feedback from customers and pavilion visitors?
So far it has been highly positive – I also want to emphasize the importance of the technology “behind” the beauty; i.e. there are many advanced technological solutions that made it possible to create the excellent ride comfort and the memorable experience. I think that the main lesson from the design point of view for this project was that by matching the elevator design to the vision of the building, we are able to integrate and create an amazing experience for the building’s visitors. ]]> Combining innovative technologies and cutting-edge design, the custom-designed elevator inside the Finland Pavilion is one of the building’s highlights. Read on to find out what inspired the KONE Design team responsible for this special project.

What was the main challenge when designing this special unique elevator?
Our main challenge was to seamlessly blend the elevator’s design with the look and feel of the pavilion’s beautiful architecture. The Finnish Pavilion’s architecture is already unique in many ways. Our main goal was to come up with a design that not only complements the whole pavilion, but also enhances the pavilion’s ambiance. The result is a unique elevator interior and user experience which will change the way people look at elevator design.

What was the inspiration behind the KONE elevator inside the Finland Pavilion?
The first inspiration for the elevator was, of course, the building itself – namely the overall simplicity and the compact form of the building. The idea was to create a highlight of the building, yet in a subtle way without disturbing the exhibition in the main hall. People tend to focus towards light, thus the lighting of the glass shaft and the elevator itself became a major theme. From there can be found the inspiration behind the “lantern” effect.

The elevator plays a prominent part in the pavilion, how did the KONE Design team make sure that both elements fitted together?
Actually we collaborated very closely with the architect of the pavilion, Teemu Kurkela. Those encounters were highly fruitful when we developed the concept of the lit elevator in the light shaft, for example. Teemu Kurkela also suggested contacting Karin Widnäs, the ceramist artist who created the beautiful and one-of-a-kind flooring for the elevator car.

What has been the feedback from customers and pavilion visitors?
So far it has been highly positive – I also want to emphasize the importance of the technology “behind” the beauty; i.e. there are many advanced technological solutions that made it possible to create the excellent ride comfort and the memorable experience. I think that the main lesson from the design point of view for this project was that by matching the elevator design to the vision of the building, we are able to integrate and create an amazing experience for the building’s visitors.
Imagine arriving to a crowded building somewhere in the city. You don’t know where you should go in the building, you don’t know where you can access and you don’t know which way to move in the building - stressful and time-consuming isn’t it? But with a new solution developed by KONE, those days could be over sooner than you think.

KONE is currently piloting the KONE Destination Concept inside the Finland Pavilion at the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai. A technical prototype for the KONE Destination concept was developed by KONE during a research project in conjunction with the Metropolia higher education institution and several industrial partners. The project has been funded by Tekes, the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation, and by various industry groups.

With the KONE Destination Concept people can enjoy a personalized journey through crowded surroundings as elevators, integrated access control and guidance information create a clear pathway to a selected destination. A personal destination device provides a user with personal destination options according to the user’s access rights. The system can also provide personalized information which assists the user with indoor navigation throughout the building. The concept utilizes advanced technologies like long range RFID (Radio-Frequency Identification) and displays based on electronic ink.

“This joint project was a prime example of how ambitious targets can be achieved on a tight schedule through the cooperation of people with the proper expertise,” says KONE Portfolio Manager, Jukka Salmikuukka. “The Shanghai Expo provides a real-life field test while simultaneously showcasing the new destination concept that is the result of the cooperation with KONE. With hundreds of Expo visitors coming from numerous countries, we can collect data on end-user experiences in a multicultural environment.”

]]> Imagine arriving to a crowded building somewhere in the city. You don’t know where you should go in the building, you don’t know where you can access and you don’t know which way to move in the building - stressful and time-consuming isn’t it? But with a new solution developed by KONE, those days could be over sooner than you think.

KONE is currently piloting the KONE Destination Concept inside the Finland Pavilion at the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai. A technical prototype for the KONE Destination concept was developed by KONE during a research project in conjunction with the Metropolia higher education institution and several industrial partners. The project has been funded by Tekes, the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation, and by various industry groups.

With the KONE Destination Concept people can enjoy a personalized journey through crowded surroundings as elevators, integrated access control and guidance information create a clear pathway to a selected destination. A personal destination device provides a user with personal destination options according to the user’s access rights. The system can also provide personalized information which assists the user with indoor navigation throughout the building. The concept utilizes advanced technologies like long range RFID (Radio-Frequency Identification) and displays based on electronic ink.

“This joint project was a prime example of how ambitious targets can be achieved on a tight schedule through the cooperation of people with the proper expertise,” says KONE Portfolio Manager, Jukka Salmikuukka. “The Shanghai Expo provides a real-life field test while simultaneously showcasing the new destination concept that is the result of the cooperation with KONE. With hundreds of Expo visitors coming from numerous countries, we can collect data on end-user experiences in a multicultural environment.”
Without a doubt the most popular pavilion after the China Pavilion at this year’s 2010 World Expo, the Saudi Arabia Pavilion cost 164 million dollars to build and boasts a total area of 6,000 square meters. It has not been uncommon for queues to last over four hours (recently the line was up to nine hours!) for people wishing to visit this truly one-of-a-kind pavilion.

A huge IMAX screen has been the pavilion’s main attraction. Videos showcasing Saudi Arabian culture are shown on the 1,600 meter screen which is larger that any other cinema screen on earth. The pavilion also features a 2,000 square-meter plaza where traditional arts cultural activities are presented.

KONE has supplied two elevators for the project. One of the elevators serves as transportation for VIP guests from the VIP entrance to the pavilion’s main floor.

The Saudi Arabia Pavilion is located on the Pudong side of the World Expo and is situated near the China Pavilion as well as the Culture Center.

]]>
Without a doubt the most popular pavilion after the China Pavilion at this year’s 2010 World Expo, the Saudi Arabia Pavilion cost 164 million dollars to build and boasts a total area of 6,000 square meters. It has not been uncommon for queues to last over four hours (recently the line was up to nine hours!) for people wishing to visit this truly one-of-a-kind pavilion.

A huge IMAX screen has been the pavilion’s main attraction. Videos showcasing Saudi Arabian culture are shown on the 1,600 meter screen which is larger that any other cinema screen on earth. The pavilion also features a 2,000 square-meter plaza where traditional arts cultural activities are presented.

KONE has supplied two elevators for the project. One of the elevators serves as transportation for VIP guests from the VIP entrance to the pavilion’s main floor.

The Saudi Arabia Pavilion is located on the Pudong side of the World Expo and is situated near the China Pavilion as well as the Culture Center.
The Culture Center is one of few permanent buildings at the World Expo in Shanghai and consists of a large central stage, large functional hall which can house up to 18,000 guests and supporting facilities. It is a multi-use development with plenty of stores, a cinema and even an ice skating rink. The Culture Center has a floor area of 126,000 square meters, of which 74,000 square meters is above ground and 52,000 square meters underground. The central stage is the first of its kind in China, and can be adjusted to form different shapes within 360 degrees. KONE played an important part in supplying the vertical transportation solutions for the Culture Center. In total, 17 KONE elevators and 26 KONE escalators will provide easy and smooth access for the Culture Center’s visitors. Five of the elevators were installed already during the construction phase and were used as freight elevators.

The Culture Center is located on the Pudong side of the World Expo on Shibo Avenue.

]]>
The Culture Center is one of few permanent buildings at the World Expo in Shanghai and consists of a large central stage, large functional hall which can house up to 18,000 guests and supporting facilities. It is a multi-use development with plenty of stores, a cinema and even an ice skating rink. The Culture Center has a floor area of 126,000 square meters, of which 74,000 square meters is above ground and 52,000 square meters underground. The central stage is the first of its kind in China, and can be adjusted to form different shapes within 360 degrees. KONE played an important part in supplying the vertical transportation solutions for the Culture Center. In total, 17 KONE elevators and 26 KONE escalators will provide easy and smooth access for the Culture Center’s visitors. Five of the elevators were installed already during the construction phase and were used as freight elevators.

The Culture Center is located on the Pudong side of the World Expo on Shibo Avenue.
The showpiece for KONE as a National Partner of the Finland Pavilion is the specially-designed elevator by the KONE Design team. This striking customized elevator is as elegant and poetic as a Chinese lantern after which it is so aptly named, but the accent is purely Finnish, from its aesthetics to how it integrates advanced technology.

The details of the elevator’s interior have been painstakingly created to serve as a showcase for state-of-the-art elevator design as well as the perfect complement to the overall pavilion aesthetic: from the handcrafted ceramic artwork of the floor designed by well-known Finnish ceramists Karin Widnäs and Pekka Paikkari to the high quality semi-transparent glass with integrated lighting from German glass experts Schott. The elevator design is inspired by China’s five elements: wood, water, earth, fire and metal.

“Our challenge was to seamlessly blend the elevator’s design with the look and feel of the pavilion’s beautiful architecture,” says Anne Stenros, vice president, KONE Design. “The Finnish pavilion’s architecture is already unique in many ways. Our main goal was to come up with a design that not only complements the whole pavilion, but also enhances the pavilion’s ambiance. The result is a unique elevator interior and user experience which will change the way people look at elevator design.”

The detailing of the elevator even extends to what we cannot see: the latest Destination Control Systems as well as RFID technology that control access to the VIP areas have been integrated. And knowing KONE elevators’ energy efficiency credentials makes the ride even more enjoyable. The scenic elevator and the glass shaft are dramatically lit to be visible both inside and outside the pavilion as the elevator seemingly floats up to the highest reaches. The most impressive view is in the main hall where the glass shaft (decorated with special graphics by Aimo Katajamäki) will create a moving piece of art with the elevator traveling up and down. Normally, tools and technologies embed themselves invisibly into everyday routines: in this case, the Kirnu elevator stands out as a symbol of high-tech meeting high-touch, a special design for a special pavilion – and a special year. ]]> The showpiece for KONE as a National Partner of the Finland Pavilion is the specially-designed elevator by the KONE Design team. This striking customized elevator is as elegant and poetic as a Chinese lantern after which it is so aptly named, but the accent is purely Finnish, from its aesthetics to how it integrates advanced technology.

The details of the elevator’s interior have been painstakingly created to serve as a showcase for state-of-the-art elevator design as well as the perfect complement to the overall pavilion aesthetic: from the handcrafted ceramic artwork of the floor designed by well-known Finnish ceramists Karin Widnäs and Pekka Paikkari to the high quality semi-transparent glass with integrated lighting from German glass experts Schott. The elevator design is inspired by China’s five elements: wood, water, earth, fire and metal.

“Our challenge was to seamlessly blend the elevator’s design with the look and feel of the pavilion’s beautiful architecture,” says Anne Stenros, vice president, KONE Design. “The Finnish pavilion’s architecture is already unique in many ways. Our main goal was to come up with a design that not only complements the whole pavilion, but also enhances the pavilion’s ambiance. The result is a unique elevator interior and user experience which will change the way people look at elevator design.”

The detailing of the elevator even extends to what we cannot see: the latest Destination Control Systems as well as RFID technology that control access to the VIP areas have been integrated. And knowing KONE elevators’ energy efficiency credentials makes the ride even more enjoyable. The scenic elevator and the glass shaft are dramatically lit to be visible both inside and outside the pavilion as the elevator seemingly floats up to the highest reaches. The most impressive view is in the main hall where the glass shaft (decorated with special graphics by Aimo Katajamäki) will create a moving piece of art with the elevator traveling up and down. Normally, tools and technologies embed themselves invisibly into everyday routines: in this case, the Kirnu elevator stands out as a symbol of high-tech meeting high-touch, a special design for a special pavilion – and a special year.
KONE will supply the Expo with 34 escalators and 59 elevators in total. See below for the full list of references, as well as map of the Expo area to help you locate the pavilions.

Download a map of our references (200kb, PDF)


The KONE reference pavilions

1. Culture Center (43 units)
2. State Grid Pavilion (9 units)
3. Australia Pavilion (4 units)
4. Information and Communication Pavilion (3 units)
5. Spain Pavilion (8 units)
6. HongKong Pavilion (1 unit)
7. China Aviation Pavilion (4 units)
8. Belgium – EU Pavilion (2 units)
9. Saudi Arabia Pavilion (2 units)
10. Denmark Pavilion (1 unit)
11. Daming Palace Pavilion (1 unit)
12. Coca Cola Pavilion (1 unit)
13. Finland Pavilion (1 unit)
14. London Case Pavilion (2 units)
15. Russia Pavilion (3 units)
16. Singapore Pavilion (1 unit)
17. Austria Pavilion (1 unit)
18. Ireland Pavilion (1 unit)
19. Expo Logistics Center (3 units)
20. DEVNET Pavilion (1 unit)
21. Broad Pavilion (2 units) ]]> KONE is proud to be one of the biggest suppliers of elevators and escalators for the Shanghai World Expo. In total, KONE is providing solutions to 21 pavilions, making it the largest supplier by number of pavilions served.

KONE will supply the Expo with 34 escalators and 59 elevators in total. See below for the full list of references, as well as map of the Expo area to help you locate the pavilions.

Download a map of our references (200kb, PDF)


The KONE reference pavilions

1. Culture Center (43 units)
2. State Grid Pavilion (9 units)
3. Australia Pavilion (4 units)
4. Information and Communication Pavilion (3 units)
5. Spain Pavilion (8 units)
6. HongKong Pavilion (1 unit)
7. China Aviation Pavilion (4 units)
8. Belgium – EU Pavilion (2 units)
9. Saudi Arabia Pavilion (2 units)
10. Denmark Pavilion (1 unit)
11. Daming Palace Pavilion (1 unit)
12. Coca Cola Pavilion (1 unit)
13. Finland Pavilion (1 unit)
14. London Case Pavilion (2 units)
15. Russia Pavilion (3 units)
16. Singapore Pavilion (1 unit)
17. Austria Pavilion (1 unit)
18. Ireland Pavilion (1 unit)
19. Expo Logistics Center (3 units)
20. DEVNET Pavilion (1 unit)
21. Broad Pavilion (2 units)
Following the official Expo 2010 opening ceremony and the 100,000 fireworks display on Friday 30th April, Saturday 1st May was the first official day of the Expo. Things got off to a sweltering start with +28C temperatures and bright blue skies early on Saturday morning. Excited visitors started to line up outside the gates 4 hours before the gates opened at 9.30am. The total number of visitors during the opening day reached 207,000. Finland Pavilion received 27,300 visitors on the first day – which meant that 13,2% of all the first day visitors came to see Kirnu and our unique elevator.

The Finland Pavilion’s unveiling ceremony took place on Saturday morning, with a very impressive guest line up headed by Minister of Trade and Industry in the Finnish government, Mauri Pekkarinen and his delegation. Finland’s Ambassador in Beijing, Lars Backström was also present at the ceremony together with Finpro officials and Kirnu’s national partners, KONE, Nokia and Greater Helsinki Promotion. KONE China Managing Director William B. Johnson attended the ceremony and the official lunch in honor of Mr. Pekkarinen’s visit.
“It is amazing to see how quickly everything has been completed and how impressive the Finland Pavilion looks like. I am particularly pleased with our uniquely designed KONE elevator in Kirnu, it highlights our design capabilities beautifully and fits very well in with the architecture of the building. This is an important event for Shanghai and KONE is proud to take part in the Expo and showcase our elevator to all the visitors.” said William B. Johnson.

KONE elevator in Kirnu was the centre of attention and all the visitors admired the lantern-like effect of the elevator rising up onto the third floor. A lot of visitors were queuing up to photograph themselves in front of the elevator on the second floor where the exhibition route passes the see through glass wall of the elevator. KONE's own VIP room was also officially opened thanks for joint efforts of the Global Marketing team and KONE China. (And) Minna Nuutila, Events Manager from Global Marketing and Communications, commented, “We are extremely pleased about reaching this important opening day milestone so successfully. We are very much looking forward to the next six months and making the Shanghai Expo an unforgettable experience for KONE customers and other guests of Finland Pavilion.”

Shanghai World Expo is open from May 1 until October 31, and KONE's VIP facilities are in use for our customers and other key stakeholders throughout this time. ]]>
Following the official Expo 2010 opening ceremony and the 100,000 fireworks display on Friday 30th April, Saturday 1st May was the first official day of the Expo. Things got off to a sweltering start with +28C temperatures and bright blue skies early on Saturday morning. Excited visitors started to line up outside the gates 4 hours before the gates opened at 9.30am. The total number of visitors during the opening day reached 207,000. Finland Pavilion received 27,300 visitors on the first day – which meant that 13,2% of all the first day visitors came to see Kirnu and our unique elevator.

The Finland Pavilion’s unveiling ceremony took place on Saturday morning, with a very impressive guest line up headed by Minister of Trade and Industry in the Finnish government, Mauri Pekkarinen and his delegation. Finland’s Ambassador in Beijing, Lars Backström was also present at the ceremony together with Finpro officials and Kirnu’s national partners, KONE, Nokia and Greater Helsinki Promotion. KONE China Managing Director William B. Johnson attended the ceremony and the official lunch in honor of Mr. Pekkarinen’s visit.
“It is amazing to see how quickly everything has been completed and how impressive the Finland Pavilion looks like. I am particularly pleased with our uniquely designed KONE elevator in Kirnu, it highlights our design capabilities beautifully and fits very well in with the architecture of the building. This is an important event for Shanghai and KONE is proud to take part in the Expo and showcase our elevator to all the visitors.” said William B. Johnson.

KONE elevator in Kirnu was the centre of attention and all the visitors admired the lantern-like effect of the elevator rising up onto the third floor. A lot of visitors were queuing up to photograph themselves in front of the elevator on the second floor where the exhibition route passes the see through glass wall of the elevator. KONE's own VIP room was also officially opened thanks for joint efforts of the Global Marketing team and KONE China. (And) Minna Nuutila, Events Manager from Global Marketing and Communications, commented, “We are extremely pleased about reaching this important opening day milestone so successfully. We are very much looking forward to the next six months and making the Shanghai Expo an unforgettable experience for KONE customers and other guests of Finland Pavilion.”

Shanghai World Expo is open from May 1 until October 31, and KONE's VIP facilities are in use for our customers and other key stakeholders throughout this time.
From May 18th to May 21st, KONE welcomed customers and suppliers to the Finland Pavilion in conjunction with their Major Projects week at the World Expo. Customers and suppliers from China, the UK, Saudi Arabia, Australia, and Singapore were invited to Kirnu for interesting seminars on innovations in the elevator and escalator industry as well as presentations on some of the most impressive KONE references around the world such as the Oasis of the Seas cruise ship. The seminars were hosted by numerous external speakers such as Ren Tianxio of the China Elevator Association, Simon Jenner of Hines UK and Anthony Wood from the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH).

On Wednesday, May19th, KONE also presented a launch event for the KONE Destination Concept which is one of the innovative systems integrated in the elevator inside Kirnu. The KONE Destination Concept, which uses the latest RFID technology, combines elevator calling, building access control and destination selection into one simple to use solution.

KONE’s next theme week, which will be about KONE Technology, will take place between May 26th and May 28th. KONE is also organizing events in conjunction with the Finland Day on May 27th. KONE’s Chairman of the Board, Antti Herlin as well as President & CEO, Matti Alahuhta, will both be visiting the Kirnu pavilion on Finland Day. ]]>
From May 18th to May 21st, KONE welcomed customers and suppliers to the Finland Pavilion in conjunction with their Major Projects week at the World Expo. Customers and suppliers from China, the UK, Saudi Arabia, Australia, and Singapore were invited to Kirnu for interesting seminars on innovations in the elevator and escalator industry as well as presentations on some of the most impressive KONE references around the world such as the Oasis of the Seas cruise ship. The seminars were hosted by numerous external speakers such as Ren Tianxio of the China Elevator Association, Simon Jenner of Hines UK and Anthony Wood from the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH).

On Wednesday, May19th, KONE also presented a launch event for the KONE Destination Concept which is one of the innovative systems integrated in the elevator inside Kirnu. The KONE Destination Concept, which uses the latest RFID technology, combines elevator calling, building access control and destination selection into one simple to use solution.

KONE’s next theme week, which will be about KONE Technology, will take place between May 26th and May 28th. KONE is also organizing events in conjunction with the Finland Day on May 27th. KONE’s Chairman of the Board, Antti Herlin as well as President & CEO, Matti Alahuhta, will both be visiting the Kirnu pavilion on Finland Day.
As part of KONE’s Centennial anniversary, the company is actively participating at this year’s 2010 World Expo in Shanghai as a National Partner of the Finland Pavilion.

In keeping with the notion of sharing and interacting, the Finnish pavilion at the World Expo has adopted the theme: ‘Sharing Inspiration’. The pavilion itself, Kirnu (which meaning a Giant’s Kettle in Finnish), has been designed by architectural office JKMM and is something of a floating island cauldron, melding the naturally-evolved and the human-formed – the organic and the high-tech – in a way in which Finnish designers seem to excel. As in interactive exhibitions, sounds and imagescapes of the calm interior space convey how Finland defines and envisions a better life and a better city, focusing on well-being, competence and the environment.

The Finnish pavilion portrays the country in miniature, representing both Finland and its society. The architecture draws its inspiration from Finnish nature and offers a quiet refuge from busy city life. The pavilion floats over water and is a showcase for sustainable building, presenting Finnish solutions for future urban construction. For example, the pavilion is covered with 25,000 shingles made from environmentally friendly wood plastic composite.

The showpiece for KONE as a national partner of the Finnish pavilion will be the specially-designed elevator by KONE’s Design team. This striking customized elevator is as elegant and poetic as a Chinese lantern after which it is so aptly named, but the accent is purely Finnish, from its aesthetics to how it integrates advanced technology.

The Finland Pavilion is located on the Pudong side of the World Expo site and can be easily reached by foot from the Shibo Avenue metro station. ]]> As part of KONE’s Centennial anniversary, the company is actively participating at this year’s 2010 World Expo in Shanghai as a National Partner of the Finland Pavilion.

In keeping with the notion of sharing and interacting, the Finnish pavilion at the World Expo has adopted the theme: ‘Sharing Inspiration’. The pavilion itself, Kirnu (which meaning a Giant’s Kettle in Finnish), has been designed by architectural office JKMM and is something of a floating island cauldron, melding the naturally-evolved and the human-formed – the organic and the high-tech – in a way in which Finnish designers seem to excel. As in interactive exhibitions, sounds and imagescapes of the calm interior space convey how Finland defines and envisions a better life and a better city, focusing on well-being, competence and the environment.

The Finnish pavilion portrays the country in miniature, representing both Finland and its society. The architecture draws its inspiration from Finnish nature and offers a quiet refuge from busy city life. The pavilion floats over water and is a showcase for sustainable building, presenting Finnish solutions for future urban construction. For example, the pavilion is covered with 25,000 shingles made from environmentally friendly wood plastic composite.

The showpiece for KONE as a national partner of the Finnish pavilion will be the specially-designed elevator by KONE’s Design team. This striking customized elevator is as elegant and poetic as a Chinese lantern after which it is so aptly named, but the accent is purely Finnish, from its aesthetics to how it integrates advanced technology.

The Finland Pavilion is located on the Pudong side of the World Expo site and can be easily reached by foot from the Shibo Avenue metro station.
In 2010, KONE is celebrating its centennial anniversary. The biggest investment made by the company to celebrate this historic event is KONE’s active participation as the National Partner of the Finland Pavilion at this year’s 2010 Expo in Shanghai.

For the past 25 years, KONE has been involved in the Chinese market. KONE’s business in China started in 1985, when KONE began marketing directly to China from its Hong Kong unit. 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 37 branches and more than 100 service depots, KONE China employs more than 3,700 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 produces elevators and escalators for the Chinese market and deliveries also extend to the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Australia, New Zealand and Europe.

Around China, KONE has also been a strong and active participant in programs and activities that aim to enrich the communities in which its employees live and work. For example, in June 2007, KONE China signed the Memorandum of Understanding for the Poverty-Alleviation Project with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China, donating RMB 1 million to the Malipo and Jin Ping counties in Yunnan Province. In May 2008, KONE Corporation employees reached out to help earthquake victims. All donations went to Suzhou Province and Finnish Red Cross branches. In April 2009, KONE China launched a donation program that to date has raised nearly RMB 100,000 for the purchase of books, stationary, and daily necessities to help the poor and provide financial aid to students in Malipo County, Yunnan Province.

On May 27, 2010, the KONE Corporation Centennial Foundation announced that it would donate a mobile library for use in numerous Chinese cities. The donation includes the cost of books, equipment, driver training and salary, insurance and maintenance. ]]> In 2010, KONE is celebrating its centennial anniversary. The biggest investment made by the company to celebrate this historic event is KONE’s active participation as the National Partner of the Finland Pavilion at this year’s 2010 Expo in Shanghai.

For the past 25 years, KONE has been involved in the Chinese market. KONE’s business in China started in 1985, when KONE began marketing directly to China from its Hong Kong unit. 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 37 branches and more than 100 service depots, KONE China employs more than 3,700 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 produces elevators and escalators for the Chinese market and deliveries also extend to the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Australia, New Zealand and Europe.

Around China, KONE has also been a strong and active participant in programs and activities that aim to enrich the communities in which its employees live and work. For example, in June 2007, KONE China signed the Memorandum of Understanding for the Poverty-Alleviation Project with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China, donating RMB 1 million to the Malipo and Jin Ping counties in Yunnan Province. In May 2008, KONE Corporation employees reached out to help earthquake victims. All donations went to Suzhou Province and Finnish Red Cross branches. In April 2009, KONE China launched a donation program that to date has raised nearly RMB 100,000 for the purchase of books, stationary, and daily necessities to help the poor and provide financial aid to students in Malipo County, Yunnan Province.

On May 27, 2010, the KONE Corporation Centennial Foundation announced that it would donate a mobile library for use in numerous Chinese cities. The donation includes the cost of books, equipment, driver training and salary, insurance and maintenance.
KONE is playing an important role in the 2010 Expo which is currently underway in Shanghai, China. In addition to its participation as a National Partner for the Finland Pavilion, KONE has supplied over 93 units for 21 different pavilions. But the company has also been highly involved in another important project, just a few metro stops away in the heart of the Shanghai Financial district.

The Shanghai International Finance Center (IFC) is the latest skyscraper to dot the city’s skyline. Located in the Lujiazui financial center in Pudong, this integrated commercial development will comprise of three towers, including twin office towers measuring 260 meters and 250 meters respectively, as well as another 85-meter tower. The complex will host offices, two hotels, as well as a high-end mall with an array of international retailers. KONE is supplying 84 KONE MiniSpace™ and 11 KONE MonoSpace® elevators, and 4 KONE double-deck elevators, which will be the first of their kind installed in China. When installed, the fastest elevators will travel up to speeds of 8.0m/s and the highest traveled distance will be roughly 250 meters.

The IFC is the first office development in Shanghai to have Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) gold pre-certification from the US Green Building Council. The South tower has recently been completed; the other buildings are under construction and are slated to open in late 2010. ]]> KONE is playing an important role in the 2010 Expo which is currently underway in Shanghai, China. In addition to its participation as a National Partner for the Finland Pavilion, KONE has supplied over 93 units for 21 different pavilions. But the company has also been highly involved in another important project, just a few metro stops away in the heart of the Shanghai Financial district.

The Shanghai International Finance Center (IFC) is the latest skyscraper to dot the city’s skyline. Located in the Lujiazui financial center in Pudong, this integrated commercial development will comprise of three towers, including twin office towers measuring 260 meters and 250 meters respectively, as well as another 85-meter tower. The complex will host offices, two hotels, as well as a high-end mall with an array of international retailers. KONE is supplying 84 KONE MiniSpace™ and 11 KONE MonoSpace® elevators, and 4 KONE double-deck elevators, which will be the first of their kind installed in China. When installed, the fastest elevators will travel up to speeds of 8.0m/s and the highest traveled distance will be roughly 250 meters.

The IFC is the first office development in Shanghai to have Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) gold pre-certification from the US Green Building Council. The South tower has recently been completed; the other buildings are under construction and are slated to open in late 2010. 100 stories of People Flow To celebrate KONE’s 100th anniversary, we have collected 100 snapshots of the company’s long journey. These stories provide a glimpse into the rich and inspiring history of KONE and highlight changes in urban living over the past century. A century of People Flow
One hundred years ago, our world was a very different place. Most homes were without central heating, indoor plumbing, and electricity. The first production-line automobile, Henry Ford’s Model T, was just two years old, and only a handful of buildings in the entire world were taller than seven or eight floors. In 1910, KONE Corporation was founded in Helsinki, Finland.

The story of this company that started off as a small machine shop, to become one of the world’s largest elevator companies, is an interesting and diverse one. The chronological chapters on the left illustrate KONE’s 100-year journey. ]]> /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/en/history_intro.jpg One hundred years ago, our world was a very different place. Most homes were without central heating, indoor plumbing, and electricity. The first production-line automobile, Henry Ford’s Model T, was just two years old, and only a handful of buildings in the entire world were taller than seven or eight floors. In 1910, KONE Corporation was founded in Helsinki, Finland.

The story of this company that started off as a small machine shop, to become one of the world’s largest elevator companies, is an interesting and diverse one. The chronological chapters on the left illustrate KONE’s 100-year journey. From machine shop to independent elevator company
In 1908, when Finland was still an autonomous Grandy Duchy of the Russian Empire, a machine shop named Tarmo (“vigor”) opened in Helsinki. Tarmo’s owners, who repaired and reconditioned used equipment, incorporated their business as KONE (“machine”) Ltd. on October 27, 1910 and then sold their shares to Gottfrid Strömberg, Finland’s leading producer of electric motors and equipment. Strömberg also imported and installed Graham Brothers elevators from Sweden.

KONE moved into the former stables on Strömberg’s industrial estate and began refurbishing and selling previously owned Strömberg motors under the KONE name. In 1912, Lorenz Petrell, head of Strömberg’s elevator department, became managing director of KONE, a position he would hold until 1932. One of his first decisions was to move KONE to larger quarters in Helsinki.

During WWI, demand for weapons and ammunition (KONE produced over 10 million brass shell casings for the Russian army) grew KONE’s revenues, and the number of employees ballooned from 10 to 600. Not many elevators were sold between 1912 and 1916, however, as the war and the strains it placed on Finland’s economy brought construction to a virtual halt.

In 1916, Walter Jakobsson joined KONE as technical director. A year later, Finland declared its independence from Russia, and KONE ended the licensing agreement with Graham Brothers. Strömberg’s entire elevator department joined KONE, and Lorenz Petrell, Walter Jakobsson, William Puomi, and Gotthard Dahlberg set out to fulfill a dream: to produce and sell a European-class Finnish elevator. ]]> /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/en/history01.jpg In 1908, when Finland was still an autonomous Grandy Duchy of the Russian Empire, a machine shop named Tarmo (“vigor”) opened in Helsinki. Tarmo’s owners, who repaired and reconditioned used equipment, incorporated their business as KONE (“machine”) Ltd. on October 27, 1910 and then sold their shares to Gottfrid Strömberg, Finland’s leading producer of electric motors and equipment. Strömberg also imported and installed Graham Brothers elevators from Sweden.

KONE moved into the former stables on Strömberg’s industrial estate and began refurbishing and selling previously owned Strömberg motors under the KONE name. In 1912, Lorenz Petrell, head of Strömberg’s elevator department, became managing director of KONE, a position he would hold until 1932. One of his first decisions was to move KONE to larger quarters in Helsinki.

During WWI, demand for weapons and ammunition (KONE produced over 10 million brass shell casings for the Russian army) grew KONE’s revenues, and the number of employees ballooned from 10 to 600. Not many elevators were sold between 1912 and 1916, however, as the war and the strains it placed on Finland’s economy brought construction to a virtual halt.

In 1916, Walter Jakobsson joined KONE as technical director. A year later, Finland declared its independence from Russia, and KONE ended the licensing agreement with Graham Brothers. Strömberg’s entire elevator department joined KONE, and Lorenz Petrell, Walter Jakobsson, William Puomi, and Gotthard Dahlberg set out to fulfill a dream: to produce and sell a European-class Finnish elevator. Out from under Strömberg and into the great depression
KONE produced five elevators in 1919, of which only one had a KONE hoisting machine. Many people doubted KONE’s ability to produce a quality Finnish elevator, but the first deliveries convinced the local construction industry that KONE elevators were at least as good as the foreign competition.

With post-war elevator demand unable to sustain the company, KONE turned to producing consumer products such as carbide lamps, coffee mills and blades for ice hockey skates. By 1924, however, the economy was recovering, and KONE was selling and installing 100 elevators a year. Its parent company, Strömberg, on the other hand, was facing bankruptcy. Strömberg had borrowed heavily for post-war expansion but neglected R&D, enabling foreign competitors employing new technologies to win over many of its customers.

The bank appointed a businessman, Harald Herlin, to settle the matter. He noticed that Strömberg’s KONE subsidiary was profitable and worth slightly more than its parent company’s debt. His surprise offer to buy KONE was accepted, enabling Strömberg to repay its loan, and KONE became an independent company with Harald Herlin as its chairman and principle owner.

Badly needing to enlarge its production facilities, the company moved into a former margarine factory on Haapaniemi Street in 1927, enabling production to jump that year to 200 elevators and 320 in 1928. That same year Harald Herlin’s son, Heikki, joined KONE’s board. After studying and working in Finland, Germany and the United States, the 31-year-old engineer became KONE’s managing director in 1932. By then, the Great Depression had cut sales back to levels not seen since Harald Herlin bought the company in 1924. His son was going to have to learn the business the hard way. ]]> /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/en/history02.jpg KONE produced five elevators in 1919, of which only one had a KONE hoisting machine. Many people doubted KONE’s ability to produce a quality Finnish elevator, but the first deliveries convinced the local construction industry that KONE elevators were at least as good as the foreign competition.

With post-war elevator demand unable to sustain the company, KONE turned to producing consumer products such as carbide lamps, coffee mills and blades for ice hockey skates. By 1924, however, the economy was recovering, and KONE was selling and installing 100 elevators a year. Its parent company, Strömberg, on the other hand, was facing bankruptcy. Strömberg had borrowed heavily for post-war expansion but neglected R&D, enabling foreign competitors employing new technologies to win over many of its customers.

The bank appointed a businessman, Harald Herlin, to settle the matter. He noticed that Strömberg’s KONE subsidiary was profitable and worth slightly more than its parent company’s debt. His surprise offer to buy KONE was accepted, enabling Strömberg to repay its loan, and KONE became an independent company with Harald Herlin as its chairman and principle owner.

Badly needing to enlarge its production facilities, the company moved into a former margarine factory on Haapaniemi Street in 1927, enabling production to jump that year to 200 elevators and 320 in 1928. That same year Harald Herlin’s son, Heikki, joined KONE’s board. After studying and working in Finland, Germany and the United States, the 31-year-old engineer became KONE’s managing director in 1932. By then, the Great Depression had cut sales back to levels not seen since Harald Herlin bought the company in 1924. His son was going to have to learn the business the hard way. The great depression, cranes and World War II
KONE dominated the Finnish elevator market in the early 1930s, but that market was tiny: 110 units in 1932, 91 in 1933 and 116 in 1934. KONE needed another leg to stand on, one based on a different investment cycle, so it could grow even when elevator sales were in decline.

Heikki Herlin decided to produce industrial cranes, and the first four units were sold in 1933. Electric motor production was also introduced in 1933. Later in the decade hoists, conveyors and conveying systems were added to the company’s offerings.

Determined to gain recognition for the quality and reliability of its products, KONE invested heavily in production equipment and proudly manufactured all the key components for its elevators and cranes. Heikki Herlin was a competent linguist, and KONE’s competitive technology enabled him to begin extending the company’s reach to foreign markets.

By 1939 KONE had produced its 3,000th elevator, and the next year it delivered its 200th crane.

As WWII approached, the global economy improved, but a reallocation of industrial resources was necessary as Finland prepared itself for the Winter and Continuation Wars. KONE manufactured ammunition and wood gas generators for vehicles but also managed to maintain a modest level of elevator and crane production. The bombing of Helsinki and demand for industrial cranes to meet wartime production requirements forced KONE to move its crane production from the cramped Haapaniemi Street factory to Hyvinkää, 55 kilometers away, in 1943. ]]> /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/en/history03.jpg KONE dominated the Finnish elevator market in the early 1930s, but that market was tiny: 110 units in 1932, 91 in 1933 and 116 in 1934. KONE needed another leg to stand on, one based on a different investment cycle, so it could grow even when elevator sales were in decline.

Heikki Herlin decided to produce industrial cranes, and the first four units were sold in 1933. Electric motor production was also introduced in 1933. Later in the decade hoists, conveyors and conveying systems were added to the company’s offerings.

Determined to gain recognition for the quality and reliability of its products, KONE invested heavily in production equipment and proudly manufactured all the key components for its elevators and cranes. Heikki Herlin was a competent linguist, and KONE’s competitive technology enabled him to begin extending the company’s reach to foreign markets.

By 1939 KONE had produced its 3,000th elevator, and the next year it delivered its 200th crane.

As WWII approached, the global economy improved, but a reallocation of industrial resources was necessary as Finland prepared itself for the Winter and Continuation Wars. KONE manufactured ammunition and wood gas generators for vehicles but also managed to maintain a modest level of elevator and crane production. The bombing of Helsinki and demand for industrial cranes to meet wartime production requirements forced KONE to move its crane production from the cramped Haapaniemi Street factory to Hyvinkää, 55 kilometers away, in 1943. War reparations and export activity
The Soviet Union demanded as a condition for peace with Finland the payment of heavy war reparations. Between 1945 and 1952 KONE sent 108 elevators (mostly huge service elevators), 202 industrial cranes and 265 electric hoists to the Soviet Union, all paid for by Finland’s government. Despite having lost many workers during the war, the company had to increase its skills and capacity to meet Soviet demands for larger and more demanding equipment than it had ever produced. After the war reparations program ended, KONE was well placed to continue exporting its products to Soviet customers.

Finland’s construction industry took a long time to recover after the war, keeping domestic elevator demand at depressingly low levels. Cranes and hoists, on the other hand, were needed as industry struggled to rebuild. With Finnish ports growing and modernizing to handle increasing traffic, KONE began producing harbor cranes in 1950.

Housing complexes, shopping centers, hospitals and office buildings finally started springing up in the 1950s as Finland began making up for lagging development during the Great Depression and war years. Taller and larger buildings called for KONE to develop sophisticated group controls and automatic doors for its elevators.

Export sales accounted for an increasingly important share of KONE’s business. In 1957 KONE founded a sales company in Sweden, Konehissar, to try to win a share of that country’s lucrative elevator market. ]]> /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/en/history04.jpg The Soviet Union demanded as a condition for peace with Finland the payment of heavy war reparations. Between 1945 and 1952 KONE sent 108 elevators (mostly huge service elevators), 202 industrial cranes and 265 electric hoists to the Soviet Union, all paid for by Finland’s government. Despite having lost many workers during the war, the company had to increase its skills and capacity to meet Soviet demands for larger and more demanding equipment than it had ever produced. After the war reparations program ended, KONE was well placed to continue exporting its products to Soviet customers.

Finland’s construction industry took a long time to recover after the war, keeping domestic elevator demand at depressingly low levels. Cranes and hoists, on the other hand, were needed as industry struggled to rebuild. With Finnish ports growing and modernizing to handle increasing traffic, KONE began producing harbor cranes in 1950.

Housing complexes, shopping centers, hospitals and office buildings finally started springing up in the 1950s as Finland began making up for lagging development during the Great Depression and war years. Taller and larger buildings called for KONE to develop sophisticated group controls and automatic doors for its elevators.

Export sales accounted for an increasingly important share of KONE’s business. In 1957 KONE founded a sales company in Sweden, Konehissar, to try to win a share of that country’s lucrative elevator market. Changing of the guard
By 1958 it was becoming clear that KONE needed new leadership. Technical director Erik Ingvall had died, and sales and design engineer William Puomi was about to retire. New recruits included Lars Eriksson, Matti Matinpalo, Vilkko Virkkala and Eero Koskivaara. Heikki Herlin’s son, Pekka,had also joined the company in 1954, and in 1958 a broad reorganization put him in charge of administration, Eriksson in charge of marketing and production and Virkkala at the head of product development.

This team began rethinking how the company should work. Pekka Herlin and Eero Koskivaara began putting KONE’s dormant capital to work, Lars Eriksson and Matti Matinpalo began considering how to modernize KONE’s outmoded production processes, and Vilkko Virkkala started looking for ways not to copy competitors’ solutions but to improve on them.

Pekka Herlin replaced his father as president of KONE in 1964. His team, which now included financial director Arvo Tuononen, immediately began planning the construction of a modern elevator factory in Hyvinkää to replace the cramped and inefficient Haapaniemi Street factory. It opened in 1967 with a capacity of 2,000 units per year, double the size of Finland’s total elevator market and far more than KONE’s total annual output, which was only about 1,200 units in 1967.

KONE now had the tools it needed to compete with bigger international competitors, but it was saddled with too much debt and a tiny domestic market. Unless it could grow fast, it was at risk of being swallowed up by one of the big multinationals which were accelerating the consolidation of the elevator industry. ]]> /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/en/history05.jpg By 1958 it was becoming clear that KONE needed new leadership. Technical director Erik Ingvall had died, and sales and design engineer William Puomi was about to retire. New recruits included Lars Eriksson, Matti Matinpalo, Vilkko Virkkala and Eero Koskivaara. Heikki Herlin’s son, Pekka,had also joined the company in 1954, and in 1958 a broad reorganization put him in charge of administration, Eriksson in charge of marketing and production and Virkkala at the head of product development.

This team began rethinking how the company should work. Pekka Herlin and Eero Koskivaara began putting KONE’s dormant capital to work, Lars Eriksson and Matti Matinpalo began considering how to modernize KONE’s outmoded production processes, and Vilkko Virkkala started looking for ways not to copy competitors’ solutions but to improve on them.

Pekka Herlin replaced his father as president of KONE in 1964. His team, which now included financial director Arvo Tuononen, immediately began planning the construction of a modern elevator factory in Hyvinkää to replace the cramped and inefficient Haapaniemi Street factory. It opened in 1967 with a capacity of 2,000 units per year, double the size of Finland’s total elevator market and far more than KONE’s total annual output, which was only about 1,200 units in 1967.

KONE now had the tools it needed to compete with bigger international competitors, but it was saddled with too much debt and a tiny domestic market. Unless it could grow fast, it was at risk of being swallowed up by one of the big multinationals which were accelerating the consolidation of the elevator industry. Internationalization begins
KONE’s breakthrough occurred in 1968 with the acquisition of ASEA’s elevator business. The Swedish business unit, with its Norwegian and Danish subsidiaries, was bigger than KONE. In one leap, KONE went from an endangered single-market company with some export activity to the market leader of Northern Europe.

There rapidly followed acquisitions in Spain (Eguren, 1969), Austria (Sowitsch, 1970), France (Falconi’s French subsidiary, 1971), Germany (Hävemeier & Sander, 1973) and England (Whitbread, 1974). Although some of these were small, managing the transition process stretched KONE’s tiny and inexperienced team to its limits. Nevertheless, they turned ASEA’s operations around in just a few years and paid off the debts incurred in its acquisition.

Within six years, KONE had transformed itself from a national company to one that had production, sales and service operations in nine countries. To manage the information overload that was building up, the company established an Information Technology team and bought its first computers. Management development programs were started with leading international experts brought in to teach.

In 1974, Pekka Herlin and his team took another gigantic leap forward with the acquisition of Westinghouse’s European elevator business. Westinghouse had been a market leader in both France and Belgium, and its elevator business there was larger than KONE’s entire international elevator operations and included high-rise expertise, which KONE lacked. By turning Westinghouse’s highly unprofitable business around in less than four years, KONE established itself as a major international player and worthy competitor for companies such as Otis, Schindler and Thyssen. ]]> /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/en/history06.jpg KONE’s breakthrough occurred in 1968 with the acquisition of ASEA’s elevator business. The Swedish business unit, with its Norwegian and Danish subsidiaries, was bigger than KONE. In one leap, KONE went from an endangered single-market company with some export activity to the market leader of Northern Europe.

There rapidly followed acquisitions in Spain (Eguren, 1969), Austria (Sowitsch, 1970), France (Falconi’s French subsidiary, 1971), Germany (Hävemeier & Sander, 1973) and England (Whitbread, 1974). Although some of these were small, managing the transition process stretched KONE’s tiny and inexperienced team to its limits. Nevertheless, they turned ASEA’s operations around in just a few years and paid off the debts incurred in its acquisition.

Within six years, KONE had transformed itself from a national company to one that had production, sales and service operations in nine countries. To manage the information overload that was building up, the company established an Information Technology team and bought its first computers. Management development programs were started with leading international experts brought in to teach.

In 1974, Pekka Herlin and his team took another gigantic leap forward with the acquisition of Westinghouse’s European elevator business. Westinghouse had been a market leader in both France and Belgium, and its elevator business there was larger than KONE’s entire international elevator operations and included high-rise expertise, which KONE lacked. By turning Westinghouse’s highly unprofitable business around in less than four years, KONE established itself as a major international player and worthy competitor for companies such as Otis, Schindler and Thyssen. Multidivisional conglomerate
In 1975 KONE was an elevator, crane and conveyor company. The following year also door service business was added to the selection with the acquisition of Hissi-ala Ltd. in Finland. The door service business was established in Turku in 1976. The crane business carried the company through the oil crisis in 1973-74 as shipyards geared up to handle the new generation of giant tankers. The arrival of Gerhard Wendt in 1970 and his subsequent rise to general manager of the Materials Handling Engineering Group, bolstered the leadership necessary to handle the company’s growing diversity. Matti Matinpalo headed the Lift Group, and Arvo Tuononen was in charge of finance and administration.

In the 1980’s, KONE both diversified and expanded into new geographic markets. In addition to the elevator and crane businesses, there were now electronic medical technology (KONE Instrument Division), wood handling for the pulp and paper industry (KONE Wood), high-pressure hydraulic piping systems (GS-Hydro) and shipboard cargo access solutions (MacGregor-Navire) as well as a few smaller ventures. KONE also continued to own the Raahe Steel Foundry, an acquisition made in the 1950s. KONE increasingly placed service at the center of its offerings.

Such a heterogeneous and increasingly international conglomerate was hard to manage centrally.KONE’s policy was one of global support for local operational decision-making. This approach suited a company that increasingly placed service at the center of its offerings. Real-time reporting allowed controllers to keep track of what the various national companies were doing, but little attempt was made to streamline operations in the dozens of factories and hundreds of branch operations around the world into an efficient global unit.

As Pekka Herlin and his team grew older and global commerce became faster and more complex, they had an increasingly difficult time keeping this diverse empire functioning efficiently. By the late 1980s there were signs that KONE – now one of the world’s top three companies in elevators and escalators, cranes, wood-handling systems and shipboard cargo handling systems – was beginning to lose the drive that had powered its growth and rising prosperity. ]]> /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/en/history07.jpg In 1975 KONE was an elevator, crane and conveyor company.The following year also door service business was added to the selection with the acquisition of Hissi-ala Ltd. in Finland. The door service business was established in Turku in 1976. The crane business carried the company through the oil crisis in 1973-74 as shipyards geared up to handle the new generation of giant tankers. The arrival of Gerhard Wendt in 1970 and his subsequent rise to general manager of the Materials Handling Engineering Group, bolstered the leadership necessary to handle the company’s growing diversity. Matti Matinpalo headed the Lift Group, and Arvo Tuononen was in charge of finance and administration.

In the 1980’s, KONE both diversified and expanded into new geographic markets. In addition to the elevator and crane businesses, there were now electronic medical technology (KONE Instrument Division), wood handling for the pulp and paper industry (KONE Wood), high-pressure hydraulic piping systems (GS-Hydro) and shipboard cargo access solutions (MacGregor-Navire) as well as a few smaller ventures. KONE also continued to own the Raahe Steel Foundry, an acquisition made in the 1950s. KONE increasingly placed service at the center of its offerings.

Such a heterogeneous and increasingly international conglomerate was hard to manage centrally.KONE’s policy was one of global support for local operational decision-making. This approach suited a company that increasingly placed service at the center of its offerings. Real-time reporting allowed controllers to keep track of what the various national companies were doing, but little attempt was made to streamline operations in the dozens of factories and hundreds of branch operations around the world into an efficient global unit.

As Pekka Herlin and his team grew older and global commerce became faster and more complex, they had an increasingly difficult time keeping this diverse empire functioning efficiently. By the late 1980s there were signs that KONE – now one of the world’s top three companies in elevators and escalators, cranes, wood-handling systems and shipboard cargo handling systems – was beginning to lose the drive that had powered its growth and rising prosperity. Divestiture
In 1989 Gerhard Wendt became president of KONE, reporting to board chairman Pekka Herlin. Four years later, the establishment of the European Union would signal the death knell for protectionism in Europe, where KONE was still doing more than 70% of its business. The companies with the most streamlined, efficient organizations would have a tremendous advantage over the rest.

KONE had been an innovator in the 1960s and 1970s, but by the end of the 1990s it was lagging behind the competition in technology and production cost in many of its product divisions. The decision was made to divest all the businesses except elevators and escalators. Between 1993 and 1995, KONE did just that, selling its crane, wood-handling, cargo access and instrument businesses and leading many to wonder whether the real intention was to sell the whole company.

In November 1994 KONE purchased Montgomery Elevator Company, the fourth largest elevator company in the United States. It would later proceed to buy the remaining shareholding in its escalator partner, Germany’s O&K Rolltreppen. Plans were also made to move decisively into China and expand operations in India. In just a few years, KONE had traded product diversity for expanded geographical coverage in the business that represented its core know-how: elevators and escalators.

Even with greater geographical balance, KONE had to recognize that its product range was not competitive enough. KONE had begun increasing its investment in R&D in the 1980s with the creation of a state-of-the-art facility in Hyvinkää. Now it was time for the R&D engineers to show what they could do. ]]> /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/en/history08.jpg In 1989 Gerhard Wendt became president of KONE, reporting to board chairman Pekka Herlin. Four years later, the establishment of the European Union would signal the death knell for protectionism in Europe, where KONE was still doing more than 70% of its business. The companies with the most streamlined, efficient organizations would have a tremendous advantage over the rest.

KONE had been an innovator in the 1960s and 1970s, but by the end of the 1990s it was lagging behind the competition in technology and production cost in many of its product divisions. The decision was made to divest all the businesses except elevators and escalators. Between 1993 and 1995, KONE did just that, selling its crane, wood-handling, cargo access and instrument businesses and leading many to wonder whether the real intention was to sell the whole company.

In November 1994 KONE purchased Montgomery Elevator Company, the fourth largest elevator company in the United States. It would later proceed to buy the remaining shareholding in its escalator partner, Germany’s O&K Rolltreppen. Plans were also made to move decisively into China and expand operations in India. In just a few years, KONE had traded product diversity for expanded geographical coverage in the business that represented its core know-how: elevators and escalators.

Even with greater geographical balance, KONE had to recognize that its product range was not competitive enough. KONE had begun increasing its investment in R&D in the 1980s with the creation of a state-of-the-art facility in Hyvinkää. Now it was time for the R&D engineers to show what they could do. New wind in our sails
1996 was a pivotal year for KONE. The company renewed both its leadership and its principal product range in dramatic fashion.

At a March 14, 1996 press conference in Brussels, KONE announced a technology breakthrough that would revolutionize the industry. Its design engineers had found a way to apply linear-motor technology to the elevator in way that would eliminate the machine room in most low-rise installations. The same technology would later turn out to be adaptable to mid- and high-rise elevators. Dubbing its new hoisting machine the EcoDisc® and its machine-room-less elevator the MonoSpace®, KONE rapidly went from straggler to head of the class.

The enthusiasm with which elevator markets welcomed KONE MonoSpace® made it possible for the company to streamline all the major parts of its business, from production to installation and spare parts supply. Costs would come down as order volume increased and productivity improved. KONE began winning market share and improving its profitability at the same time.

In the autumn of the same year, Antti Herlin was named deputy chairman of the board and CEO. His father was tired and increasingly unwell, but Antti soon proved himself capable of leading the company into the new milennium.

KONE opened a greenfield factory in China in 1998, just in time to catch the crest of the wave that would make China the number 1 elevator and escalator market in the world. One indication of how deeply the company was committed to globalization was the naming of a Frenchman, Jean-Pierre Chauvarie in 1998 and three years later a German, Manfred Eiden, as president. ]]> /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/en/history09.jpg 1996 was a pivotal year for KONE. The company renewed both its leadership and its principal product range in dramatic fashion.

At a March 14, 1996 press conference in Brussels, KONE announced a technology breakthrough that would revolutionize the industry. Its design engineers had found a way to apply linear-motor technology to the elevator in way that would eliminate the machine room in most low-rise installations. The same technology would later turn out to be adaptable to mid- and high-rise elevators. Dubbing its new hoisting machine the EcoDisc® and its machine-room-less elevator the MonoSpace®, KONE rapidly went from straggler to head of the class.

The enthusiasm with which elevator markets welcomed KONE MonoSpace® made it possible for the company to streamline all the major parts of its business, from production to installation and spare parts supply. Costs would come down as order volume increased and productivity improved. KONE began winning market share and improving its profitability at the same time.

In the autumn of the same year, Antti Herlin was named deputy chairman of the board and CEO. His father was tired and increasingly unwell, but Antti soon proved himself capable of leading the company into the new milennium.

KONE opened a Greenfield factory in China in 1998, just in time to catch the crest of the wave that would make China the number 1 elevator and escalator market in the world. One indication of how deeply the company was committed to globalization was the naming of a Frenchman, Jean-Pierre Chauvarie in 1998 and three years later a German, Manfred Eiden, as president. KONE acquires Partek and splits with Cargotec
KONE had continued to acquire companies long after the major acquisitions of the 1970s were integrated into the organization, but most of the new companies were small service companies with local market coverage. Then, in 2002, KONE carried out a lightening-swift attack that resulted in the acquisition of Partek, a Finnish conglomerate. Like the legendary ASEA and Westinghouse deals, the acquisition of Partek involved taking over a company bigger than KONE.

Many wondered why Antti Herlin was buying a company deeply involved in businesses – such as cranes and materials handling – that his father had divested less than ten years earlier. The answer lay in a combination of tax regulations and simple mathematics. On the one hand, the family’s inheritance was so deeply tied up in KONE shares that it could not be divided up among Pekka Herlin’s five children without having to sell the company. On the other, Partek was available at a price so far below the value of its various parts that it presented too good an opportunity to pass up. Within little more than two years, KONE had reorganized Partek’s companies into a new company, Cargotec, whose shares were held by the other Herlin children. Antti retained principal ownership of a KONE whose worth had been doubled in the process.

During these years, KONE also took important steps to expand operations in the rapidly growing markets of China, India, Russia and the Middle East. It also extended its strategic alliance with Japan’s Toshiba Elevator and Building Systems Corporation. This cooperative relationship was topped off with the installation of KONE EcoDisc® hoisting machines in all but two of the elevators in the world’s tallest building, the Taipei Financial Center in Taiwan.

The door business also evolved during these years. In 2003 KONE expanded into new door equipment business through the acquisition of Waldoor B.V. of The Netherlands. The following year the door business expanded into North America, Australia and New Zealand.
]]> /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/en/history10.jpg KONE had continued to acquire companies long after the major acquisitions of the 1970s were integrated into the organization, but most of the new companies were small service companies with local market coverage. Then, in 2002, KONE carried out a lightening-swift attack that resulted in the acquisition of Partek, a Finnish conglomerate. Like the legendary ASEA and Westinghouse deals, the acquisition of Partek involved taking over a company bigger than KONE.

Many wondered why Antti Herlin was buying a company deeply involved in businesses – such as cranes and materials handling – that his father had divested less than ten years earlier. The answer lay in a combination of tax regulations and simple mathematics. On the one hand, the family’s inheritance was so deeply tied up in KONE shares that it could not be divided up among Pekka Herlin’s five children without having to sell the company. On the other, Partek was available at a price so far below the value of its various parts that it presented too good an opportunity to pass up. Within little more than two years, KONE had reorganized Partek’s companies into a new company, Cargotec, whose shares were held by the other Herlin children. Antti retained principal ownership of a KONE whose worth had been doubled in the process.

During these years, KONE also took important steps to expand operations in the rapidly growing markets of China, India, Russia and the Middle East. It also extended its strategic alliance with Japan’s Toshiba Elevator and Building Systems Corporation. This cooperative relationship was topped off with the installation of KONE EcoDisc® hoisting machines in all but two of the elevators in the world’s tallest building, the Taipei Financial Center in Taiwan.

The door business also evolved during these years. In 2003 KONE expanded into new door equipment business through the acquisition of Waldoor B.V. of The Netherlands. The following year the door business expanded into North America, Australia and New Zealand.
Making it all work smoothly
The arrival of Matti Alahuhta in the KONE president’s office issued in the latest era of KONE’s development. The distractions of the Partek acquisition and Cargotec’s devolution were in the past. KONE was profitable but had fallen too far for comfort behind the industry’s leader in many key indicators.

Matti set out to streamline KONE’s organization and improve its performance across the board. He involved key levels of management in defining KONE’s vision and values. He launched the KONE Way, which clearly defined KONE’s key processes as Customer, Delivery, Maintenance, Solution Creation, and Management & Support. The management team began defining Must-Win Battles and issuing regular reports on KONE’s progress in achieving the desired outcomes.

Since 2005 KONE has outperformed the competition in terms of growth and profit margin improvement. KONE has established itself as a major player in the world’s fastest growing markets and solidified its position in its traditional markets. It has been the acknowledged technology leader since the introduction on KONE EcoDisc®. Today, KONE has strong competencies in Elevators, Escalators and Automatic Building Doors.

KONE has come a long way in the past 100 years. From its start as a tiny machine shop in Helsinki, it has become a five billion euro company with 33,800 employees and operations worldwide with the exception of South America. Today KONE looks to its past with pride and to the future with confidence and enthusiasm. ]]> /corporate/KONE_100_years/Documents/images/en/history11.jpg The arrival of Matti Alahuhta in the KONE president’s office issued in the latest era of KONE’s development. The distractions of the Partek acquisition and Cargotec’s devolution were in the past. KONE was profitable but had fallen too far for comfort behind the industry’s leader in many key indicators.

Matti set out to streamline KONE’s organization and improve its performance across the board. He involved key levels of management in defining KONE’s vision and values. He launched the KONE Way, which clearly defined KONE’s key processes as Customer, Delivery, Maintenance, Solution Creation, and Management & Support. The management team began defining Must-Win Battles and issuing regular reports on KONE’s progress in achieving the desired outcomes.

Since 2005 KONE has outperformed the competition in terms of growth and profit margin improvement. KONE has established itself as a major player in the world’s fastest growing markets and solidified its position in its traditional markets. It has been the acknowledged technology leader since the introduction on KONE EcoDisc®. Today, KONE has strong competencies in Elevators, Escalators and Automatic Building Doors.

KONE has come a long way in the past 100 years. From its start as a tiny machine shop in Helsinki, it has become a five billion euro company with 33,800 employees and operations worldwide with the exception of South America. Today KONE looks to its past with pride and to the future with confidence and enthusiasm.