Elevator makers ride on China's boom

With modern skyscrapers popping up all over the country, top elevator makers plan to target high-rise projects to grab a piece of the market, said trade insiders.

Zhang Lexiang, deputy secretary-general of the China Elevator Association, said that China, the world's largest manufacturer and seller of elevators, with an average annual growth of 20 percent over the past decade, has become a battlefield for both foreign and domestic elevators with many tall building towering into the clouds.

But he said it is more about a company's strategic vision than financial objectives.

Tony Black, president of Otis Elevator (China) Investment Co, Ltd, said that they have a long list of high-rise projects, including a recent order in Tianjin to supply 103 elevators and escalators for the new high-rise building-Tianjin Chow Tai Fook Binhai Center, which will be completed in 2018.

"Recently we invested more in this sector, because it has a win-win effect – it is not only a good business move but will also enhance brand awareness," said the senior executive of the US company.

The 530-meter skyscraper will be the second-highest building in Tianjin after the 597-meter Tianjin Goldin Finance 117 center.

Other brands, such as Finland-based Kone and the German company Thyssenkrupp, have also invested heavily amid China's skyscrapers' boom.

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