KONE relocates and expands manufacturing and R&D unit within Kunshan, China

KONE will relocate and expand its manufacturing unit and R&D center in China in the Kunshan New & Hi-tech Industrial Development Zone (KSND).

“With this expansion we will be better able to meet the growth in Asia, particularly in China,” says Heikki Leppänen, Executive Vice President, New Equipment Business. “The new larger site will allow KONE to increase its production of elevators and escalators, as well as expand our R&D activities.”

The purpose-built site will be planned according to lean manufacturing principles and KONE’s global supply network needs. The industrial park is located close to the Suzhou-Shanghai Expressway thus enabling better connections to suppliers and customers. The new site will become KONE’s largest manufacturing unit when it opens in 2012.

The current R&D center will be expanded and a new high-rise test tower will be built to support the development of People Flow™ products and solutions.

The city of Kunshan has been rapidly growing since KONE established production in 1998, and KONE’s manufacturing unit is nowadays in the midst of a residential area. Since 2005, Kunshan has been KONE’s global escalator production center. In China, KONE employs 3,800 persons, of which approximately 1,000 work at the manufacturing unit. KONE aims to have the site certified to the LEED green building rating system.