Kone receives a major order from China

Kone was chosen to supply escalators for China’s national high-speed railway project. The project is known as the Beijing-Shanghai Express Railway and once completed it will link two major economic zones in China in approximately five hours.

The project began in April 2008 and is being undertaken by China’s Ministry of Railways. Once completed, the railways will span over 1,300 kilometers and 24 different railway stations along the Beijing-Shanghai route.

Kone will supply the railway project with 342 escalators, which will strengthen further the company’s position as a major player in the Chinese infrastructure segment. In addition, Kone was awarded a maintenance contract on all equipment for a period of two years.

The manager of Major Projects at Kone, Ari Lehtoranta, considers it central that Kone is able to offer safe and dependable escalators with a lot of international experience, emphasizing the company’s reliability as a supplier. Also the company’s excellent maintenance program was a key factor in winning the equipment order and servicing agreement. Kone supplies its clients elevators and escalators, as well as providing versatile solutions for their maintenance and modernization, making it one of the leading companies in the business. In 2008 Kone had annual net sales of 4.6 billion Euros and over 34,800 employees. The company’s head office is based in Helsinki in Finland
 
kone.com

Picture: Kone has already supplied escalators for instance to Berlin’s Central Station, Berlin Hauptbahnhof.