by Brianna Crandall — March 22, 2013—Global elevator and escalator manufacturer KONE Corporation won orders in recent weeks for its elevators and escalators to be installed in a variety of structures: a super high-rise tower in Chongqing, China; another high-rise in Haikou, China; and a multi-use complex in Moscow, Russia; as well in both the Washington, DC, and Delhi, India, metro systems.
Kone won an order for 94 elevators and 36 escalators to be installed in the super high-rise tower, two lower towers and podium of the Chongqing International Trade and Commerce Center under construction in Chongqing, China. The deal includes seven KONE DoubleDeck elevators, 64 KONE MiniSpace elevators, 23 KONE S MonoSpace elevators, 36 KONE TravelMaster escalators, and the KONE E-Link remote monitoring system. Standing on the banks of the Jialing River like a “gigantic unfolding sail,” the tallest tower will rise to 468 m and 105 stories, and will house the world’s highest-traveling KONE elevator to date—a KONE MiniSpace . In addition to the tower with premium offices and a five-star hotel, the Center includes a 47-story office building, a 39-story luxury serviced apartment building, and a shopping mall podium, for a total floor space of 680,000 sq m. KONE’s eco-efficient solutions will help the Center pursue LEED Gold certification.
Also in China, KONE gained an order for 28 KONE MiniSpace elevators, three KONE MonoSpace elevators, four KONE TravelMaster 110 escalators, and the KONE E-Link remote equipment monitoring system to be installed at the Hainan Tower, a landmark construction project in the city of Haikou, in the province of Hainan. In addition to a 200-meter, 45-story main building, the project includes an 80-meter, 17-story annex building and a lower podium. The commercial office building, which will also include shops and restaurants, is expected to open to the public by the end of 2014.
In Russia, KONE won a contract to provide the new Kuntsevo Center in Moscow with 101 pieces of equipment. The redeveloped multi-use complex will rise to a height of up to 75 meters and feature 38 KONE MonoSpace Special elevators, a KONE TranSys elevator, 47 KONE TravelMaster escalators, and 14 KONE Travel Master 115 autowalks. The passenger elevators feature unique car interior designs that combine mirror-polished and brushed stainless steel walls and perforated ceilings. A dumbwaiter with an unusually rapid speed of 0.63 m/s will also be delivered. The landmark development in the historic Kuntsevo district will include a large, modern shopping mall, two residential towers, a cluster of state-of-the-art office buildings, and a 2,000-car parking facility, for a total area of 246,000 sq m.
KONE was also awarded a contract by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) to replace up to 128 escalators at 34 stations throughout Washington, DC’s Metro transportation system. KONE will replace the outdated escalators with KONE’s industry-leading heavy-duty Transit Escalators, designed to meet the needs of highly demanding public areas and featuring the latest in eco-efficient technology, safety, and reliability.
In addition, KONE won an order for 143 KONE MonoSpace elevators to be installed at stations in the third phase of the Delhi Metro network extension in Northern India, following previous orders for 395 elevators and 75 escalators. The completed network will be some 330 kilometers long. The order includes 70 stainless steel elevators with glass doors and 73 elevators with stainless steel doors. Braille buttons and a voice announcement system will improve accessibility for all passengers, while elevator mirrors ease accessibility for wheelchair users. The vandal-proof elevators also feature additional door photo-sensors, fire-rated glass and fire-retardant low smoke cables.
