Elevator market gets a lift
By Wu Yong (China Daily)
Updated: 2004-04-09 08:45

Competition between big-name foreign elevator makers for the China market is intensifying.

The Chinese market is believed to be one of the largest in the world at present.

"China's high-end elevator market is dominated by producers mainly from Japan, the United States and Europe," said Zhu Zhiping, vice-director of the China Elevator Association (CEA).

He added that that all of the world's top elevator manufacturers have set up joint ventures in China, which makes the country one of the world's largest elevator production bases.

Toshiba Elevator and Building Systems Corp yesterday started construction of a new 200 million yuan (US$24 million) plant in Shenyang, capital city of Northeast China's Liaoning Province.

 Toshiba plans to set up a 130-metre experimental elevator tower, which will be the tallest of its kind in China. And it promises to strengthen its research and development in China.

A month earlier, Ari Bousbib, president and CEO of Otis Elevator, visited Chengdu, capital city of Southwest China's Sichuan Province. When meeting local officials, he expressed a wish to set up a plant in Chengdu.

Schindler Group of Switzerland, the second-biggest elevator producer in the world, was among the first group of foreign elevator makers to enter the Chinese market in 1980s. It has also established a strong presence in China.

"China's ballooning real asset market and ever-improving domestic counterparts are the main power that drive these tycoons to take every measure to sharpen their competitive edge," said Li Zengjian, chief-editor of China Elevator magazine.

According to statistics from CEA, China purchased about 80,000 lifts last year, and the number will reach 100,000 this year.

Shanghai Mitsubishi Elevator alone sold over 10,000 lifts in China last year.

"Why is Shanghai Mitsubishi Elevator developing so fast? One important reason is that they are adopting first-class technology," said Zhu.

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