It comes as no surprise that sales and supplies of elevators and escalators plummeted during Q2,
a period coinciding with the complete lockdown of the economy. A cautious, slow revival started
in Q3 with ...
It comes as no surprise that sales and supplies of elevators and escalators plummeted during Q2,
a period coinciding with the complete lockdown of the economy. A cautious, slow revival started
in Q3 with the recommencement of many stalled projects.
鈥淣ew project launches grew 4.5x times and sales grew 2.5x times compared to Q2 of 2020, with
the residential market displaying a better than expected recovery in Q3,鈥� says Manish Mehan,
CEO & MD, thyssenkrupp Elevator (India).
Happening realty
In the last few months, we have seen a resurgence of real estate, which has been positive for the
elevator industry, says Amit Gossain, MD, KONE Elevator India. 鈥淒emand for elevators for
mid-rise and high-rise residential and commercial buildings is the biggest driver and will
continue to be so. However, commercial complexes like supermarkets and shopping malls, and
airports present opportunities to install latest models.鈥�
鈥淚n Maharashtra, the subsidy on real estate has spurred demand for residential units, and a lot of
smaller developers have rushed to complete projects,鈥� shares Manoj Amale, Director, Vertis
Elevators.
Affordable housing is a key driver, I expect this to continue, says Antony Parokaran, CEO,
Eros Elevators. 鈥淩esidential real estate in general has picked up. People are trying to step up to
larger properties as a result of working from home.鈥�
At present demand is being driven mainly by low-cost affordable residential housing projects,
which are doing reasonably well, observes Amit Maitra, Managing Director, Lerch Bates.
鈥淲e are upbeat about the growth of the affordable housing segment, as that has the potential to
be a game changer,鈥� agrees Mehan.
Infra push
Growth in the construction of new metro stations has increased the demand for elevators and
escalators directly as well as indirectly, by having a favourable impact on real estate, says
Gossain.聽
Maitra feels demand from metro and airport projects is slow due to lockdown-induced project
implementation delays.
Covid-preventative features
Lifts with Covid-preventive features and machine roomless lifts offering different car interior
finishes are in demand nowadays, says Maitra.
What are some features that help further health and wellbeing?
Latest elevator control systems like destination despatch systems ensure less crowded elevators,
while new ventilation systems and calling elevators using mobile apps or similar techniques
make elevators safer to use, observes P S Sudheer, Principal Consultant, AEC Asia Inc.
Touch-free is the new normal, with clients looking for solutions that will help navigate the
pandemic safely and comfortably, adds Gossain.
A case in point: Aurum Ventures鈥� commercial office buildings at Aurum Q Par膰, a 7 million sq ft
integrated township on the Thane Belapur Road, Navi Mumbai, make use of destination port
control elevators with touchless access control technology. With these, access points from the
campus entry to the building entry to the floor level access are all synced on a mobile application
allowing occupants to travel to their respective offices without physically touching any call
buttons. When an occupant flashes his or her mobile-based access control app on the flap barrier
at the ground level the elevator is called in for his or her office floor.
Staying ahead of the technology curve has helped us to face the challenges posed by the Covid-
19 crisis, says Shreerang Athalye, Group President, Aurum Ventures.
Another example: 鈥淥tis recently worked with India鈥檚 RMZ Corp. to integrate the Bluetooth-
powered Otis eCall鈩� smartphone app with elevators at RMZ Infinity, shares Sebi Joseph,
President of Otis India. This app enables passengers to call certain elevators directly from their
phone, creating a fast, safer touchless passenger experience.
While this is good, Kriyang Patel, Director, Trio feels touchfree has not been widely accepted
even in the background of corona. Features like hepa filters etc are [still] new to the market and
gradually being accepted for high end projects.
While customers are inquiring more about touchless technology, shifting to this way of
operations will necessitate a change of mindset and the cost of retrofitting existing elevators, so I
think it is some time away and may dissipate if the impact of Covid reduces, agrees Parokaran.
鈥淎cross all Runwal developments and properties, we have installed HEPA air filters in
elevators,鈥� shares Saurabh Runwal, Associate Director, Runwal. However, the group is
resorting to more traditional ways to protect passengers from touching surfaces. 鈥淪trategically
placed tissues help passengers to avoid touching buttons,鈥� says Runwal.
聽
Other safety measures at Runwal include the installation of sensor-based hand sanitisation
stations at elevator entry and exit points, the use of air disinfectant within elevators and the
regular cleaning and disinfection of elevator buttons, doors and walls. Place markers usually
restrict the number of passengers to four but passengers are encouraged to stand facing the wall
if the elevator is fuller.
聽
In malls, Runwal is practicing automated halt at all levels and protecting escalator passengers by
the adherence to social distancing guidelines and the cleaning and disinfection of escalator belts
and railings twice or thrice hourly.
Wellness solutions
Otis鈥� purification solutions include a purification fan for elevators, which uses an anion generator
and ultraviolet lamp to kill germs and other microorganisms. For escalators and moving walks, a
UV-C light handrail sanitiser is available.
KONE India鈥檚 health and wellbeing solutions that encourage physical distancing and enable a
safe and convenient return to public settings include elevator load adjustment, escalator handrail
sanitiser (uses UV-C ultraviolet light to gradually disinfect escalator handrails), elevator call
using a social messaging channel like WhatsApp installed on a mobile phone, elevator air
purifier based on an advanced photocatalytic oxidation process developed by NASA for air
control on spaceships, which removes most potential air pollutants.
To cater to the demand for touchless elevator calling solutions, thyssenkrupp has developed
Active IR, proximity sensor-based solutions, Bluetooth-based solutions, QR code scanner-based
solutions, IoT-based solutions and voice recognition-based solutions. Advanced air purification
solution, LED thermal cameras, aerosol disinfectant solutions and escalator UV sanitising
solutions cater to the demand for technologies that help create healthier indoor spaces.
Indian versus global
The elevator market is populated by both international brands as well as indigenous players.
Both organised and indigenous players have their own clientele, opines Patel. 鈥淗owever, a very
slow shift towards organised players is underway.鈥�
International brands known for their safe, reliable, and efficient products and services largely
dominate the market, opines Mehan.
Indigenous companies usually cannot take on very large government projects where ISO mark
products are mandated and where the terms typically involve full payment after completion as
we cannot raise that kind of finance, says Amale.
But indigenous vendor bring their own advantages.
鈥淚ndigenous vendors are more flexible about schedules, about the size of the shaft (we
personalise the size of the shaft), how we work, and we offer less expensive maintenance
contracts,鈥� observes Amale. 鈥淥verseas brands have a set way of working. Recently, we won a
contract in Mumbai even though we were pitted against larger companies. Indigenous companies
are now servicing government projects as well.鈥�
鈥淲e are a smaller organisation and hence more flexible about meeting customer needs and
capable of serving the need for niche solutions,鈥� says Parokaran. 鈥淐ustomers look for a good,
safe, reliable product delivered on time, backed by good after-sales service. We have been
around since 1947 and have the expertise to handle larger projects such as the Tata Amantra with
40 plus elevators.鈥�
What is more, 鈥渘owadays, indigenous brands are looking to upgrade their product lines to offer
technologically advanced elevators with better aesthetics and customised finishes and options,鈥�
observes Sudheer.
鈥淥mega introduced touchless technology in India, and now many indigenous companies also
offer automation. Automation is not rocket science,鈥� points out Amale.
Point taken.
Future opportunities
We expect to get back to pre-Covid levels of business in the next two quarters, says Antony
Parokaran, CEO, Eros Elevators. 鈥淔actors favourable for this include stable real estate prices,
lowest-ever interest rates and the government encouraging low-cost housing. Residential
registrations in Mumbai are at an all time high.鈥�
The market for escalators has a good growth potential in view of the metros coming up, new
airports especially in smaller cities and in railway stations to ease people movement, adds
Parokaran.
With site activities expected to further pick up in the first half of 2021 subject to the external
environment and the availability of labour, Amit Maitra, Managing Director, Lerch Bates
expects the offtake of vertical transportation equipment by other segments like malls,
commercial and IT parks to increase commensurately.
P S Sudheer, Principal Consultant, AEC Asia Inc expects the office segment in major towns
in particular to continue to see low demand, an outcome of continuing work from home trend.
Lowest-ever interest rates and the government focus on housing for all will help residential real
estate particularly affordable housing to pick up faster.
Other opportunities for elevators lie in retail, the hospitality and medical segment, and residential
real estate, continues Sudheer. 鈥淢alls, retail and hypermarkets will need escalators and
autowalks. In the infra segment, metros, railway station upgradations, transit centres, FOB鈥檚 and
airports will boost demand for elevators and escalators.鈥�
Kriyang Patel, Director, Trio, lists airports, metro stations, railway stations, foot over bridges,
shopping malls, commercial buildings, etc as potential drivers of demand. 鈥淚n particular, the
Indian government targeting metros in 25 cities, and new airports in tier II and tier III cities in
addition to expanding/face lifting existing airports will substantially increase demand for
elevators, escalators and moving walkways in the next five years.鈥�
Manoj Amale, Director, Vertis Elevators sees good opportunities in new government hospitals
while Amit Gossain, MD, KONE Elevator India sees great potential in the airport sector with
the government pushing for modernisation.
New metro rail stations in cities such as Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, and Pune, and
new airports will contribute to Indian real estate as well as the elevator industry鈥檚 growth, opines
Manish Mehan, CEO & MD, thyssenkrupp Elevator (India).
Other innovations
This year Otis India added the Gen2 Stream to its Gen2 product family. This Bengaluru-built
machine room less model is optimised for the commercial segment and is offered in two speeds
(1 mps and 1.75 mps) in a wide range of designs so that customers can easily match it with
existing building aesthetics.
Eros Elevators recently launched a new machine roomless, gearless, passenger elevator for the
low to mid rise segment with superior aesthetic and safety features as part of its CHARVI series.
Next, it will be relaunching a product for home villas, with better aesthetics and suitable for
different shaft sizes.
thyssenkrupp鈥檚 fast and energy-efficient elevator system TWIN is equipped with intelligent
traffic control which can help direct a certain number of users to the elevator based on social
distancing requirements.
thyssenkrupp MAX is the industry鈥檚 first real-time, cloud-based predictive maintenance solution.
It increases elevator availability by evaluating the remaining lifetime of each key component and
system, and thus, reducing out-of-service situations by up to 50 per cent.
Incidentally, artificial intelligence and machine learning with IOT technology have helped
elevator companies to connect and monitor most new elevator installations in real time, observes
P S Sudheer, Principal Consultant, AEC Asia Inc. This allows companies to focus on
predictive maintenance rather than preventive/breakdown maintenance ensuring higher
equipment uptime, better equipment performance and user experience.
鈥淲e have seen rising demand for our AI-based 24/7 Connected Services, a solution providing
valuable information on upcoming maintenance needs and identifying potential issues before
they cause problems,鈥� shares Amit Gossain, MD, KONE Elevator India.
Kriyang Patel, Director, Trio believes energy-saving technology and predictive maintenance
apps will be widely used in near future. Trio has brought out navigation systems, group
controller, and high speed lifts.
thyssenkrupp鈥檚 new elevator, meta200, combines German precision-engineering with reliable
safety and security features, an advanced car design with a 360掳 vibration reducing system,
inspiring designs, high-end materials, etched patterns and highly durable finishes for an all-round
premium experience.
Ways to improve elevator and escalator safety
In 1853, Elisha Graves Otis鈥� demonstrated his safety elevator at the New York Crystal Palace
Exposition. With the declaration 鈥淎ll Safe Gentleman鈥�, Otis laid the foundation for today鈥檚
elevator industry. Undoubtedly, elevators and escalators (E&E) are the safest means of transport.
Yet, over the years the script has taken a drastic turn for the worse, says Tak Mathews,
Director, Tak Consultancy. 鈥淚ndia reported 31 fatalities in 2019 involving elevators and
escalators. Despite the lockdown, there were another 21 fatalities in 2020. But such news is often
suppressed.鈥漇ketchy newspaper reports reveal that those incidents were anything but freak and should never
have happened, continues Mathews. They happened because of deteriorating safety standards.
鈥淭he mantra for design, procurement and maintenance decisions is Cheap, Cheaper, Cheapest.
Even toilet fittings and horticulture have higher priority than E&E. When faced with immense
price pressure E&E companies resort to borderline design and material and lowered maintenance
effort to meet bottom-lines.鈥滱lso, numerous E&E do not meet the minimum provision set by the Indian Standards and
National Building Code, says Mathews. 鈥淭he death of an MP-based industrialist and his five
family members in 2019, a 5-year-old boy in 2020 and others can be linked to non-compliance
installations. Many involved in E&E supply, installation and maintenance are unaware of the
minimum requirements. Many including prominent suppliers and developers choose to ignore
the requirements citing economic considerations.鈥漈he third problem is low statutory oversight, continues Mathews. 鈥淪ome states do not have
legislation covering E&E, literally allowing murder. Some issue licenses without checking
installations. Accidents investigations are carried out without adequate technical competency.鈥滻nadequate technical competency is another concern. 鈥淢odern-day technical graduates do not
want to get their hands dirty while the industry wants faster ROI,鈥� says Mathews. 鈥淭wo decades
back training would extend to years of hands-on field training but now this has been shortened
and is often confined to classrooms.鈥滾astly, to increase user awareness the Elevator & Escalator Safety Trust was established in 2008.
Unfortunately, except for few like Johnson Lifts, Otis, Schindler and ThyssenKrupp, it has found
inadequate support.Clearly, the industry has drifted away from the 鈥淎ll Safe, Gentleman鈥� assurance. Unless we all
act, who knows who will be the next fatality, concludes Mathews.
- CHARU BAHRI
