Kone opens new R&D & engineering centre in Chennai

Elevator and escalator major, Kone has inaugurated its new Indian Technology and Engineering Center (ITEC) in Chennai. With the opening of this new centre, the company has brought all its Indian R&D and engineering units under the one roof.

Kone has been actively involved in providing innovation in the form of better end-user solutions for moving smoothly in and out of buildings. The company said the innovation in India will be taken to new heights at ITEC, whether it is in global software development and testing or in developing the latest elevators for the Indian market.
Jussi Oijala, Senior Vice President, Kone Technology, said:”Kone’s innovation leadership is constantly being strengthened in technology centers around the world that work together with customers, suppliers, strategic partners, research institutes and other Kone units. India has highly competent engineers and capable technical staff. Now we have created a winning team that can better support our global functions and production.”
The company said the ITEC will also play a key role in supporting Kone’s market development in India. “Kone always aims to bring in the customer and end-user perspective when developing products. With stronger R&D and engineering collaboration here in India, we can serve the growing Indian market with even more innovative People Flow solutions,” said Neeraj Sharma, Managing Director, Kone India.
Kone’s ITEC is a LEED Gold certified building which uses renewable energy and has a built-in rainwater harvesting system. The company has installed 36 eco-efficient elevators and two escalators to fulfill the requirements of green building certification standards. The technology park is located in the suburb of Ambattur, approximately 20 km from Chennai city center, and 1.5 km from company’s production unit.