KONE wins order for two new passenger cruise ships from Celebrity Cruises

KONE won a contract to design, supply and install all elevators on Celebrity Cruises’ two new passenger cruise ships. The ships, which belong to the “Solstice Class” series, will be built by Meyer Werft GmbH in Germany.

KONE will supply the cruise ships with a total of 46 customized elevators serving the vertical transportation needs of both passengers and crew. The elevators will be hoisted by KONE EcoDisc® machinery and are based on either the KONE MiniSpaceTM or the machine-room-less KONE MonoSpace® platform.

The new ships will follow the three previous Solstice Class ships providing cruise passengers with a luxury cruise vacation experience covering a wide range of onboard entertainment and amenities. The ships will be 317 meters long and over 36 meters wide, each accommodating 2,850 passengers. The delivery of the ships will take place in 2011 and 2012 respectively.

“This order is a result of our long-term partnership and especially successful cooperation with the Meyer Werft shipyard on the previous project, Celebrity Solstice, delivered in October 2008,” says Ari Lehtoranta, EVP, Major Projects, KONE. These two new orders play an important role in strengthening KONE’s leading position in the cruise ship segment"

Celebrity Cruises is owned by Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., a global cruise vacation company. KONE’s cooperation with Royal Caribbean and Meyer Werft goes back to the early 1990s.

The parties have agreed not to reveal the contract’s value.

About KONE

KONE’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. KONE provides its customers with industry-leading elevators, escalators and innovative solutions for modernization and maintenance, and is one of the global leaders in its industry. In 2008, KONE had annual net sales of EUR 4.6 billion and over 34,800 employees. KONE class B shares are listed on the NASDAQ OMX Helsinki Ltd in Finland.

www.kone.com