Real estate investments around metro rail stations and airports will contribute to elevator & escalator market growth.

- Manish Mehan

CEO and MD, TKE (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?

India has been witnessing a rapid increase in investments both by the government and private entities in large-scale metro projects, especially in tier-1 and tier-2 cities, to support the transportation and development needs of India as cities urbanize.

Over the past decade, new metro rail lines have been added in areas near Delhi. Similarly, metro rail projects have been introduced in other Indian cities such as Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai and Pune, with further plans to enhance connectivity in the future. In order to cater for the needs of increasing domestic and international air traffic, the Government of India also plans to increase the number of operational airports from 103 at present to 190-200 by FY40.

As per Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs recent report, Smart Cities Mission (SCM) is being implemented in 100 cities. As on 30 June this year, 2,734 projects worth Rs 46,769 crore have been completed. We expect the Government of India to speed up the progress of this initiative to boost the growth of the Indian economy.

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

Smart mobility solutions are critical in smart and sustainable cities. Today users perceive elevators as more than just a means of travel from one floor to another, people have expressed increasing interest for information, connectivity, speed and convenience in elevator systems. As an industry-leading innovator and trend-setter, TK Elevator has designed elevators that are not only elegant and sophisticated but also smart in technology. We have developed a range of smart products that leverage connected sensors and cloud technology to enhance the experience of both end-users and maintenance personnel, improve elevator efficiency, and reduce down-time and crowding.

Real estate investments in the vicinity of metro rail stations and airports will create demand for elevators and escalators, contributing to elevator and escalator market growth in India. At the same time, the smart cities initiative will also be a major impetus to the growth of smart elevators in India.

How have the "Aatmanirbhar Bharat" and "Make in India" initiatives benefitted players like you?

TK Elevator has always been a supporter of the Government's “Make in India” initiative. The setup of our multifunction facility in Pune demonstrates our strategic foresight in domestic manufacturing, our commitment in serving India with high quality products and services and creating jobs and opportunities in local communities.

There are a few prerequisites for local manufacturing campaigns to succeed, they include constant supply of skilled labour, world-class supporting infrastructure and competitive manufacturing costs. For “Aatmanirbhar Bharat Make in India”, thanks to the support of the government and favourable social conditions, manufacturers in India enjoy a host of advantages including competitive cost and skilled labour supply, as well as information technology (IT) support. Our manufacturing base in India could benefit from and possibly taken to the next level by more efficient local and international logistics services, and more readily available infrastructure support.

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

India has been one of the most affected countries amid the COVID-19 pandemic.  Disruption in the supply chain of raw materials and halted construction activities, caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, resulted in slower demand for elevators and escalators.

Despite the slow-moving market situation, TK Elevator rises to the challenge by upping our game in customer service. During the entire pandemic period, TK Elevator made sure to deliver the required services to our commercial and non-commercial sites. During the period of lockdown when malls and other facilities were closed, our organization was preparing for delivering the best service and safety options in the new normal era.

Emphasizing the importance of customer service, and the safety and comfort of its customers, we launched a new mobile app for our customers to send us their enquiries, seek assistance or their reflections about our service, all at the comfort and convenience of their homes during the lock-down period. The app supports both the Android and iOS operating systems, features a user-friendly interface and is conveniently available on Google Play and Apple App Store. With TKE's world-class customer service right at their fingertips, this app will allow our customers to reach out to us faster and more convenient than ever before.

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

Our long-term business strategy is to continue growing by offering ingenious, customized and energy efficient mobility solutions. We are also determined to strengthen our maintenance and service business, at the same time we are committed to investing continuously in our employees, and retaining our talent through comprehensive training programmes on new manufacturing, installation and maintenance processes, and career development opportunities.

Innovation is at the core of our business, we have a comprehensive product development roadmap to cater for the needs of the simplest kind of building and infrastructure, to the most complex customized high-rise projects.

TK Elevator invests significant resources in R&D activities to provide customers with smart and efficient mobility solutions. Our state- of- the- art multi-purpose facility (MPF) in Chakan, Pune employs dedicated R&D staff to continuously look into new technologies and applications which can be adapted in the Indian market.

This facility also includes manufacturing & logistics centre, centralized customer care centre, experience centre, training centre and R&D centre. It is designed for an initial capacity of manufacturing 6,000 elevator units, extendable to over 10,000 units in the future.

Operating this world-class facility in Pune enables the company to significantly expand its potential reach in the region and support the increasing growth of the Indian construction sector driven by strong urbanization.

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