KONE Inaugurates New Rs 450 Crore Manufacturing Facility In Tamil Nadu
The KONE plant, built at a cost of about Rs 450 crore, would employ 600 people and serve India and neighbouring countries.
KONE Oyj, a maker of elevators and escalators, has inaugurated a new manufacturing facility at Sriperumbudur near Chennai.
The facility, built at a cost of about Rs 450 crore, would employ 600 people and serve Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka, besides the Indian market.
The KONE plant at Pillaippakkam, SIPCOT Industrial Park in Sriperumbudur is spread across 50,000 square metres. According to company officials, it is the largest in India, South and South East Asia.
Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit, Industries Minister MC Sampath, Finland's Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto, KONE Chief Executive Officer Henrik Ehrnrooth and KONE India's Managing Director Amit Gossain were present at the inauguration event on Tuesday.
"We are very pleased to inaugurate this state-of-the-art factory in India. The expanded facility will help KONE cater better to our customers as well as meeting the demands for a growing elevator market in India and neighbouring countries", Ehrnrooth said.
Gossain said the new unit aims at leveraging digitisation opportunities and speeding up development in a changing business environment. "To meet the growing demand, we have set up this factory in increased manufacturing capacity. We also significantly invest in research and development and create expert manpower for providing operation and maintenance services," he said.
Haavisto said "India and Finland enjoy friendly as well as dynamic commercial relationship with exports and imports showing substantial annual increases".
"India is one of the fastest-growing economies (in the world) and Finnish companies actively participate in this economic development. Indian information technology businesses are also establishing their presence in Finland," he added.
Tamil Nadu Industries Minister MC Sampath said that the state is among the most industrialized in India and among the most coveted investment destinations due to its strategic location. "It is a pleasure that KONE has set up this outstanding factory in Tamil Nadu and I am looking forward to a better future for Tamil Nadu's economy.”
Governor Banwarilal Purohit also expressed pleasure over KONE choosing SIPCOT Industrial Park in Pillaippakkam to set up the largest facility in the region. "We welcome this investment project from KONE Corporation which brings high-end technology solutions and jobs," he said.
The factory is equipped with the latest technology in production, reinforcing KONE's customer-focused strategy to provide the most competitive, highest quality products with short delivery of time. Around 80 percent of the components would be produced locally. The plant is eco-efficient and designed according to green rating systems.