KONE Wins Major Order for Norwegian Cruise Line Ships

KONE has signed its largest ever single contract for cruise ships. The contract was signed with Aker Yards for the supply of all elevators and escalators in two luxury 4,200 passenger cruise ships to be built for Norwegian Cruise Line.

The ships will be built at the Aker Yards´ shipyard in Saint Nazaire, France. The two ships will be delivered in 2009 and 2010 respectively. The contract also includes an option for delivery to additional identical ships.

KONE will design, supply and install altogether 60 custom designed elevators and 12 escalators tailored for passenger and service use. The value of the contract is approximately EUR 15 million.

“We are very pleased to work alongside Aker Yards once again. This is an excellent example that a first-rate product offering and good customer service continuously increases customer loyalty,” says Heikki Leppänen, EVP, New Elevators and Escalators, KONE. “With this collaboration, KONE carries-on its long-term commitment to the marine industry and strengthens its market leader position as the elevator and escalator provider for the cruise ship segment.”

Norwegian Cruise Line is one of three major global cruise vacation companies, and the new series of ships will continue NCL's tradition of “Free-style Cruising”. The new ships will be of 150,000 gross tons Post-Panama size, 325 meters long and 40 meters wide, each accommodating approximately 4,200 passengers.

Sender:

KONE Corporation

Heikki Leppänen
Executive Vice President,
New Elevators and Escalators

Minna Mars
Senior Vice President,
Corporate Communications & IR

For further information, please contact:
Minna Mars, SVP, Corporate Communications & IR, tel. +358 (0)204 75 4501

KONE is one of the world’s leading elevator and escalator companies. It provides its customers with industry-leading elevators and escalators, with innovative solutions for their maintenance and modernization. KONE also provides maintenance of automatic building doors. In 2006, KONE had annual net sales of EUR 3.6 billion and approximately 29,000 employees. Its class B shares are listed on the OMX Nordic Exchange in Helsinki, Finland.

www.kone.com