As cities continue to expand and infrastructure proliferates, elevators and escalators are a main part of the narrative.

- Sebi Joseph

President, Otis India

The government has announced various infrastructure development projects like metros, airports, Smart Cities mission, etc. How do you see the investment scenario panning out, especially when the private sector is still shying away from making large investments? Do you feel the onus will continue to be on the government to ensure large infra spends in these sectors?

The 'Make in India' initiative has been in focus and adopted by various industries for some time now. However, the spotlight is back on the government's 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' (Self Reliant India) campaign. Various efforts by the government such as the Skill India program, the Ease of Doing business policies, Production Linked Incentive scheme, focus on Foreign Direct Investment etc. are all steps in the right direction.  Announcements in this year's budget, support the real estate industry. Some among them are the focus and 37% increase in spend on infrastructure, financial reforms to infuse liquidity, 2030 National rail plan and central government financial support to specific metro railway projects, disinvestment of PSUs, IPO for LIC, SPVs to monetize surplus land with government departments, creation of DFI (Development Finance Institution) and asset reconstruction company, recapitalization of public sector banks etc. Localization can truly bear fruit when industries and government come together to keep pushing forward this agenda.

According to a 2019 CBRE report - titled India 2030 - Exploring the Future, as of 2018, nearly 34% of India's population resided in the cities; this number is expected to increase to 40% by 2030. As cities continue to expand and infrastructure proliferates, elevators and escalators are a main part of the narrative. To support this demand for elevators and escalators, major industry players have turned towards strengthening their localisation. For example, Otis India's manufacturing facility in Bengaluru has been serving India's people-moving market since it opened in the mid-nineties. In 2020, the facility was awarded the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) gold rating and is ISO 14001 certified. Otis' global flagship and best-in-class technology the Gen2 elevator has been increasingly localized over the years to better suit India's demands in terms of speeds, capacities and other requirements. Soon after, we at Otis India announced the supply of 112 Gen2 elevators from our factory in Bengaluru for the for the second phase of the Bengaluru Metro project

With greater government support and industries combined efforts, India will surely reap the numerous benefits of the Invest India and Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan campaign in years to come.

In this scenario, how do you see the opportunities for the elevators and escalators sector? What is your outlook for the sector?

Urbanization is a major driver for the elevator and escalator industry. The introduction of the elevator safety brake nearly 170 years ago made living and working in tall buildings possible. With this, cities became the centrifugal force for progress and urbanization. When you look at studies related to India, it is one of the fastest growing economies in the world. Indian cities are likely to contribute to 70% of India's GDP by 2030. The Oxford Economics' Global cities report estimates that 17 of the 20 fastest-growing cities in the world between 2019 and 2035 will be from India. This growth means that as cities accommodate even more people, we will need more buildings. This bodes well for the elevator industry.

To help the industry expand further, the Indian elevator and escalator industry should look beyond its traditional geographical markets. As the country develops its talent pool and expands equipment speeds and capabilities, India is poised to better cater to the needs of other urban markets across Asia. India's elevator and escalator factories have been supplying to neighboring countries in addition to customers in India. This should set the stage for India to become a manufacturer of elevators and escalators to support the growth of urban markets.

How has the pandemic affected the elevators and escalators industry? For Otis, how has been the impact and what steps have been taken to deal with such situations even in future?

At Otis, we were already at the start of our digital transformation with technologies like the CompassPlus that use data to make passenger movement more streamlined and efficient. With COVID-19, technology took on a large mantle in solving some of the challenges that arose from the pandemic. Companies in the vertical transportation industry began to promote products, such as touchless technologies in a bid to minimize the use of public access buttons. For example there are mobile apps that can be paired with elevators to let passengers use their smartphones as their personal elevator call button like the Otis eCall mobile app. Additionally, Otis also introduced Stay Well solutions like the purification technology that is being used to inactivate micro-organisms with the help of an ion generator and UV light lamps within the elevator car itself. Escalators too, can have a module fitted on the handrail and is designed to remove certain viruses using ultraviolet light.

Recently, Otis India also became the first major OEM to initiate the sales of elevators online through the launch of an ecommerce website. With an increase in digital literacy in the country, the Indian customer has become digitally savvy; and comfortable with transacting online. This is furthered by the Indian government's push to go digital. Moreover, the various lockdowns, have led people to further to transact and conduct business online. This eCommerce platform allows customers to choose, configure, get a quote and book their elevator online. This brings convenience and transparency to the customer as they can select their elevator at any time and from anywhere, choose their aesthetics and specifications, visualize the elevator before they buy and get the price at the click of a button. The process is simple and makes elevator buying from computers and phones easy. This process marries the digital experience and real-world experience. Once booked, the sales specialist at Otis will contact the customer offline and take them through the regular offline process. The online order-booking platform attracts individual home buyers, developers in faraway towns and cities with requirements for single elevators.

Tell us about your plans on becoming future-ready in terms of investments, capacity addition, tie-ups, talent acquisition, etc.

Globally, Otis' investments in research and development, along with investments in digital and strategic initiatives, have increased by approximately 60% since 2015. And we count among our 1,300 R&D engineers a growing number of software engineers, data scientists and experts in user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) design.

We are looking forward to continuing to develop future focused technologies as we move ahead and more particularly our IOT systems and service digitalization. A lot of our research is currently focused on advancing our programs like eCall™, Otis ONE™, cloud-based technologies, mobile applications and other digital offerings for Otis teams and customers across the world. Our engineers at our Bengaluru factory are working with our engineers at our research and development center in Hyderabad to advance this.

It is clear to me that elevators have a major role to play in the future of cities. It will be interesting to see how the industry pivots towards more and more innovation as it embraces technology.

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