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:''For the town in New Caledonia, see Koné.''
:''For the radio station in Lubbock, TX, see KONE-FM.''
'KONE Corporation', founded in 1910 and headquartered at Espoo, Finland, is an international engineering and service company employing some 30,000 people. It provides elevators and escalators and solutions for their maintenance and modernization, as well as maintenance of automatic building doors. The company provides local service for builders, developers, building owners, designers and architects in 800 locations in over 40 countries. KONE has since 1924 been owned by one of Finland's wealthiest families, the Herlin family. Chairman of the Board was Harald Herlin 1924 - 1941, Heikki H. Herlin 1941 - 1987, Pekka Herlin 1987 - 2003 and currently Antti Herlin.
Kone (then known as Osakeyhtiö KONE Aktiebolag) was founded in 1910 as a subsidiary of Gottfr. Strömberg Oy. Strömberg's license to import Graham Brothers elevators was transferred to the new company. KONE sold just a few units before terminating the licensing agreement in 1917. KONE, a company with 50 employees, started to make and install its own elevators in 1918. Six year later, in 1924, Harald Herlin bought KONE from Strömberg and became the company's board chairman. His son, Heikki Herlin, joined the company and was appointed technical director in 1928. His office was located in a former margarine factory on Haapaniemi Street in Helsinki that KONE had bought and converted into an elevator production facility the previous year. Heikki Herlin took over as KONE's president in 1932. KONE's first foreign subsidiary - AB KONE Hissar of Sweden - was established in 1957.
After World War II, KONE was called upon by the Finnish government to contribute elevators, electric hoists and cranes to the war reparations being paid to the Soviet Union. This program forced KONE to expand its capacity, rationalize production processes and learn to meet demanding manufacturing schedules. In the 1950s KONE introduced its first group controls, automatic doors and hydraulic elevators. Heikki Herlin turned over the president's duties in 1964 to his son, Pekka, who had served as administrative director since 1958.
KONE opened a purpose-built elevator factory in 1966 in Hyvinkää, Finland. The following year KONE was listed on the Helsinki Exchanges and started its international expansion through the acquisition of Sweden's Asea-Graham and its Norwegian and Danish affiliates. Numerous acquisitions followed during the 1970s and 1980s with only the most significant being listed here. The acquisitions of companies larger and older than KONE itself has been seen to have brought KONE respectability and lifted the company to a position of market prominence. Eventually KONE further expanded its business scope. The company became one of the world's largest hoist and crane manufacturers as well as a producer of high-tech electronic hospital and laboratory equipment.
In 1981 KONE entered the American elevator market with the acquisition of New York City based Armor Elevator CO., which it continued to operate independently as a wholly owned subsidiary. The addition of Navire Cargo Gear in 1982 and International MacGregor a year later made KONE number one worldwide in shipboard cargo access equipment. Wood-handling systems and equipment for pulp and paper mills, hydraulic piping systems, mining equipment and conveyors, and specialized steel components from KONE's own steel foundry rounded out the company's offerings to industrial customers. In 1987, after 60 years as a member of KONE's board of directors and 46 as its chairman, Heikki Herlin retired. Prevented by Finnish law from serving simultaneously as president and board chairman, Pekka Herlin ceded the presidency to Matti Matinpalo, the first non-Herlin to occupy the position in 55 years, and continued as Chairman of the Board.
KONE's business had been booming in 1987. By 1990, however, global recession had set in, which led KONE to sell its shipboard cargo handling business in 1993, crane, wood handling and piping systems businesses in 1994, and the steel foundry and electronic medical instruments business in 1995. Only elevators and escalators remained. KONE acquired Montgomery Elevator Company of the U.S. in 1994, which made KONE a major player in North America. Soon after KONE purchased a majority of the outstanding shares of O&K Rolltreppen GmbH of Germany. These acquisitions made KONE the world's leading supplier of escalators and autowalks. KONE also sought to stregnthen the company's presence in Asia. This was done in 1998 by a U.S. $29 million investment in the construction of an elevator and escalator factory in Kunshan, China. KONE introduced the innovative KONE EcoDisc® hoisting machine and KONE MonoSpace® elevator concept in 1996. In the beginning of the 21st Century rival companies began marketing competitive machine-room-less elevators of their own. Antti Herlin was appointed KONE CEO and deputy chairman of the board in 1996. Through this appointment, the fourth generation of the Herlin family began exerting its influence in the development of KONE's business. Pekka Herlin passed away on April 4, 2003 after a lengthy illness. Antti Herlin was appointed chairman of the board in June 2003.
By the start of 2000, consolidation in the elevator business had reached the point where few independent mid-sized companies were left in Europe or America. Construction activity leveled off in many markets, and the expected wave of modernization of existing equipment in aging buildings was slower to materialize than predicted.
Unlike the elevator business, the automatic building door service business, which KONE had entered in France in 1980, had not yet experienced such consolidation. KONE made a few strategic acquisitions and alliances and soon became the leading company in the field. In 2002, KONE acquired Partek, a Finnish industrial engineering company with net sales equal to KONE's. Partek's business areas specialized in container handling, load handling, forest machinery and tractors. The KONE Materials Handling division thus comprised these Partek business areas.
In 2003, KONE decided to concentrate on Container Handling and Load Handling and the tractor and forest machine businesses were sold. As the structure of KONE Materials Handling had changed significantly, the name Kone Cargotec was introduced in January 2004. Its business areas were Kalmar (container handling) and Hiab (load handling).
At the end of 2004, Kone Cargotec acquired MacGREGOR, a global marine cargo-flow solution and service provider, thereby adding the leading market position in shipboard cargo-handling solutions to its existing market leadership in container handling and load handling.
In August 2004 the KONE Board of Directors presented a plan to split the company into two separately listed companies on the Helsinki Stock Exchanges in June, 2005. One company would comprise KONE's existing elevator, escalator & building door service business and continue to operate under the name KONE Corporation. The other company would comprise Kone Cargotec’s business area and operate under the name Cargotec Corporation. The Extraordinary Shareholders’ Meeting in December 2004 approved the Demerger Plan. The demerger was completed in June 2005.
★ '1985' – the acquisition of Montgomery Elevator's Canadian subsidiary opens an alliance with Montgomery in the U.S. that leads to the total integration of Montgomery into the KONE organization after 1994.
★ '1995' – an alliance was formed as KONE and MacGregor worked together to create elevators for handling passenger traffic on modern cruise ships. This alliance commands the leading position in marine elevator market.
★ '1998' – KONE's alliance initiated with Toshiba of Japan.
★ '2001' – KONE-Toshiba alliance is strengthened as the companies signed a historic agreement to exchange shares and extend Toshiba's license to market elevators based in KONE MonoSpace® technology.
★ '2002' – KONE acquires the industrial engineering company Partek
★ KONE Corporation
★ KONE Finland
★ KONE US
★ KONE India
★ KONE Italy
★ KONE China (English)
★ KONE China (Chinese)
★ KONE Sweden
:''For the radio station in Lubbock, TX, see KONE-FM.''
'KONE Corporation', founded in 1910 and headquartered at Espoo, Finland, is an international engineering and service company employing some 30,000 people. It provides elevators and escalators and solutions for their maintenance and modernization, as well as maintenance of automatic building doors. The company provides local service for builders, developers, building owners, designers and architects in 800 locations in over 40 countries. KONE has since 1924 been owned by one of Finland's wealthiest families, the Herlin family. Chairman of the Board was Harald Herlin 1924 - 1941, Heikki H. Herlin 1941 - 1987, Pekka Herlin 1987 - 2003 and currently Antti Herlin.
| Contents |
| History |
| 1910–1964 |
| 1965–1998 |
| 1999–2007 |
| Significant Alliances & Acquisitions |
| External links |
History
1910–1964
Kone (then known as Osakeyhtiö KONE Aktiebolag) was founded in 1910 as a subsidiary of Gottfr. Strömberg Oy. Strömberg's license to import Graham Brothers elevators was transferred to the new company. KONE sold just a few units before terminating the licensing agreement in 1917. KONE, a company with 50 employees, started to make and install its own elevators in 1918. Six year later, in 1924, Harald Herlin bought KONE from Strömberg and became the company's board chairman. His son, Heikki Herlin, joined the company and was appointed technical director in 1928. His office was located in a former margarine factory on Haapaniemi Street in Helsinki that KONE had bought and converted into an elevator production facility the previous year. Heikki Herlin took over as KONE's president in 1932. KONE's first foreign subsidiary - AB KONE Hissar of Sweden - was established in 1957.
After World War II, KONE was called upon by the Finnish government to contribute elevators, electric hoists and cranes to the war reparations being paid to the Soviet Union. This program forced KONE to expand its capacity, rationalize production processes and learn to meet demanding manufacturing schedules. In the 1950s KONE introduced its first group controls, automatic doors and hydraulic elevators. Heikki Herlin turned over the president's duties in 1964 to his son, Pekka, who had served as administrative director since 1958.
1965–1998
KONE opened a purpose-built elevator factory in 1966 in Hyvinkää, Finland. The following year KONE was listed on the Helsinki Exchanges and started its international expansion through the acquisition of Sweden's Asea-Graham and its Norwegian and Danish affiliates. Numerous acquisitions followed during the 1970s and 1980s with only the most significant being listed here. The acquisitions of companies larger and older than KONE itself has been seen to have brought KONE respectability and lifted the company to a position of market prominence. Eventually KONE further expanded its business scope. The company became one of the world's largest hoist and crane manufacturers as well as a producer of high-tech electronic hospital and laboratory equipment.
In 1981 KONE entered the American elevator market with the acquisition of New York City based Armor Elevator CO., which it continued to operate independently as a wholly owned subsidiary. The addition of Navire Cargo Gear in 1982 and International MacGregor a year later made KONE number one worldwide in shipboard cargo access equipment. Wood-handling systems and equipment for pulp and paper mills, hydraulic piping systems, mining equipment and conveyors, and specialized steel components from KONE's own steel foundry rounded out the company's offerings to industrial customers. In 1987, after 60 years as a member of KONE's board of directors and 46 as its chairman, Heikki Herlin retired. Prevented by Finnish law from serving simultaneously as president and board chairman, Pekka Herlin ceded the presidency to Matti Matinpalo, the first non-Herlin to occupy the position in 55 years, and continued as Chairman of the Board.
KONE's business had been booming in 1987. By 1990, however, global recession had set in, which led KONE to sell its shipboard cargo handling business in 1993, crane, wood handling and piping systems businesses in 1994, and the steel foundry and electronic medical instruments business in 1995. Only elevators and escalators remained. KONE acquired Montgomery Elevator Company of the U.S. in 1994, which made KONE a major player in North America. Soon after KONE purchased a majority of the outstanding shares of O&K Rolltreppen GmbH of Germany. These acquisitions made KONE the world's leading supplier of escalators and autowalks. KONE also sought to stregnthen the company's presence in Asia. This was done in 1998 by a U.S. $29 million investment in the construction of an elevator and escalator factory in Kunshan, China. KONE introduced the innovative KONE EcoDisc® hoisting machine and KONE MonoSpace® elevator concept in 1996. In the beginning of the 21st Century rival companies began marketing competitive machine-room-less elevators of their own. Antti Herlin was appointed KONE CEO and deputy chairman of the board in 1996. Through this appointment, the fourth generation of the Herlin family began exerting its influence in the development of KONE's business. Pekka Herlin passed away on April 4, 2003 after a lengthy illness. Antti Herlin was appointed chairman of the board in June 2003.
1999–2007
By the start of 2000, consolidation in the elevator business had reached the point where few independent mid-sized companies were left in Europe or America. Construction activity leveled off in many markets, and the expected wave of modernization of existing equipment in aging buildings was slower to materialize than predicted.
Unlike the elevator business, the automatic building door service business, which KONE had entered in France in 1980, had not yet experienced such consolidation. KONE made a few strategic acquisitions and alliances and soon became the leading company in the field. In 2002, KONE acquired Partek, a Finnish industrial engineering company with net sales equal to KONE's. Partek's business areas specialized in container handling, load handling, forest machinery and tractors. The KONE Materials Handling division thus comprised these Partek business areas.
In 2003, KONE decided to concentrate on Container Handling and Load Handling and the tractor and forest machine businesses were sold. As the structure of KONE Materials Handling had changed significantly, the name Kone Cargotec was introduced in January 2004. Its business areas were Kalmar (container handling) and Hiab (load handling).
At the end of 2004, Kone Cargotec acquired MacGREGOR, a global marine cargo-flow solution and service provider, thereby adding the leading market position in shipboard cargo-handling solutions to its existing market leadership in container handling and load handling.
In August 2004 the KONE Board of Directors presented a plan to split the company into two separately listed companies on the Helsinki Stock Exchanges in June, 2005. One company would comprise KONE's existing elevator, escalator & building door service business and continue to operate under the name KONE Corporation. The other company would comprise Kone Cargotec’s business area and operate under the name Cargotec Corporation. The Extraordinary Shareholders’ Meeting in December 2004 approved the Demerger Plan. The demerger was completed in June 2005.
Significant Alliances & Acquisitions
KONE offices in the United States, located in Moline, Illinois.
★ '1985' – the acquisition of Montgomery Elevator's Canadian subsidiary opens an alliance with Montgomery in the U.S. that leads to the total integration of Montgomery into the KONE organization after 1994.
★ '1995' – an alliance was formed as KONE and MacGregor worked together to create elevators for handling passenger traffic on modern cruise ships. This alliance commands the leading position in marine elevator market.
★ '1998' – KONE's alliance initiated with Toshiba of Japan.
★ '2001' – KONE-Toshiba alliance is strengthened as the companies signed a historic agreement to exchange shares and extend Toshiba's license to market elevators based in KONE MonoSpace® technology.
★ '2002' – KONE acquires the industrial engineering company Partek
External links
★ KONE Corporation
★ KONE Finland
★ KONE US
★ KONE India
★ KONE Italy
★ KONE China (English)
★ KONE China (Chinese)
★ KONE Sweden
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