CHENNAI: The continuation of the conflict in the Gulf region may result in short-term liquidity issues for Finnish elevator manufacturer KONE's India unit. However, exports are not impacted as they are largely routed through China and Finland.
Speaking to The New Indian Express, Amit Gossain, Managing Director of KONE India, said, "If the war continues, there will be short-term liquidity issues. We have a big setup in Dubai, so it is partly managed. The rest of the exports are from China and Finland. The Indian unit exports mostly to South Asian countries."
KONE India also exports machines to the US that are manufactured in India. He further said that trade will stabilise faster than expected if the war comes to an end.
He also spoke about the recent elevator safety code introduced by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). The new IS 17900 code was implemented on December 22, 2025. He said KONE India has sold nearly 1,000 elevators in the three months since the new rules were rolled out.
"We cannot draw conclusions within three months of the rollout of safety codes on whether products meet the standards described. We will have to wait another 5–7 years to understand the real impact," he said, adding that one of the safety features of its products is 24/7 connected services. "We have an IoT-enabled system that helps predict elevator failures. It takes care of 80% of potential failures."
Gossain had earlier said that elevator prices would increase by 2%–5% following the implementation of the new codes.
KONE India has 7,500 employees, of whom 1,500 work at KONE Tech (KTech), which houses R&D facilities in Chennai and Pune.
KTech is focused on developing innovations in the elevator and escalator segment tailored to Indian needs. The company is also expanding its R&D facility at its Chennai plant, which was inaugurated in 2019 with an outlay of ₹450 crore.
The elevator market size is about 1 lakh units per year, of which the company holds a 25% share in India.
The company also manufactures escalators at its Chennai plant, where an elevator test tower has been set up.