KONE Pte Ltd

2019

ASIA’S BEST PERFORMING COMPANIES

KONE Pte Ltd

ASIA’S BEST PERFORMING COMPANIES

2019

WORDS FROM THE JURY PANEL

KONE helps societies to tackle some of the pressing issues of population density in urban planning. In its long and illustrious history, it has been a company which has weathered change with innovation, good business acumen and high regard for the good of humanity.

Words from the winner

KONE Pte Ltd

The Only Way Is Up

Moving business the KONE way.

KONE offers innovative and sustainable solutions that make cities better places to live in. With its People Flow™ solutions, KONE offers a way to make people’s journeys safe, smooth and efficient. KONE’s People Flow™ solutions includes elevators, escalators, autowalks, doors, as well as people flow consultation services. Over one billion people from the residential, retail, office, commercial, government, medical, hospitality, and recreational sectors use the company’s products every day.

KONE’s People Flow™ solutions takes into consideration customers’ business needs. The highly customized approach allows the company to tailor the solutions offered according to the needs. KONE also adopts an innovative and technological approach towards maintaining a high standard of service post-sales. This innovative approach has resulted in KONE being recognized as one of the most innovative companies in the Forbes list of the world’s most innovative companies in 2018. It is the only elevator company to be recognized eight times.

The 1910 Finland-registered company has made inroads into Asia by understanding the region’s dynamic environment. KONE has consistently focused on ensuring innovation and sustainability, which include Singapore Green Building Council (SGBC) certifications for its products. As a company, KONE also believes in creating value for customers through empowerment of employees, with employee development being one of its core beliefs. KONE has been recognized for the second consecutive year in the Forbes 2018 Global 2000 World’s Best Employers List, a recognition of how it has managed its talent recruitment and retention policies.

With a variety of programs in place, including the usage of e-learning initiatives, there is a wide array of skills and knowledge training made available to all employees. The focus is not just on developing the skills and knowledge needed by employees to perform in their jobs, but also on encouraging the horizontal career development and vertical development opportunities.

One of the biggest challenge the industry faces is the increasingly high expectations that customers have towards service providers. To tackle this, KONE has to constantly strive towards getting a better understanding of the ever-changing landscape in which it operates. This means evolving its approach to not just being customer-focused, but also to focus on improving solutions through innovation.

The company handles increased digitalization by maintaining high value partnerships with the likes of IBM, who provides KONE with cloud-based Internet of Things (IoT) technologies and services, enabling the company to connect, remotely monitor and optimize the management of millions of elevators, escalators, doors and turnstiles in buildings and cities worldwide through a service known as KONE 24/7 Connected Services.

KONE strongly believes in and practices sustainability. It has been awarded an A or A- score for the sixth consecutive year by CDP 2018 list. It is also the winner of multiple Good Design and RedDot design awards. In 2013 KONE invented UltraRope, which delivers greater eco-efficiencies for the operation of elevators.

KONE’s CSR commitment comes from the KONE Centennial Foundation, a trust founded and established when the company marked 100 years in operation. In South Africa, the company supports drug rehabilitation programs, in China it has established a literacy support program through a mobile library program. For India, the Foundation provides and supports supplementary education programs to children in villages. For Mexico, the Foundation provides support for the Arts, promoting arts as a tool against violence.