KONE history

In 1912, Lorenz Petrell, head of Strömberg's elevator activities, was named managing director of its Kone subsidiary.

Kone sold just a few units before terminating the licensing agreement in 1917.

Kone, then a company with only 50 employees, started to make and install its own elevators in 1918.

The company's initial elevator experience was positive, prompting the company to turn its focus to elevators in the early 1920s.

In 1927 KONE moved into new, fa r larger production facilities, after buying a former margarine facto ry.

By the end of 1928 the company had produced more than 1,000 elevators.

Heikki H. Herlin took over as Kone's president in 1932.

In 1939 KONE celebrated the production of its 3,000th elevator.

Heikki Herlin took over the chairmanship o f the company upon his father's death in 1941.

The bombing of Helsinki and demand for industrial cranes to meet wartime production needs forced KONE in 1943 to move its crane production from its increasingly cramped factory in the Finnish capital to Hyvinkää, 55 kilometers away.

The KONE logo was redesigned in 1948.

Founded in 1950, the Good Design Award is one of the most recognized design award programs in the world.

KONE also opened its own vocational school in 1951.

At the same time, it had to increase its skills and capacity to meet Soviet demands for larger and more demanding equipment than it had ever produced as part of the post-war reparations program. As a result, KONE was well placed to continue exporting to Soviet customers when the program ended in 1952.

Heikki Herlin’s son Pekka Herlin joined KONE in 1954.

Kone's first foreign subsidiary – AB Kone Hissar of Sweden – was established in 1957.

Pekka Herlin replaced his father as KONE president in 1964.

In 1966 the company opened a new, state-of-the-art elevator productio n facility in Hyvinkaa.

By 1967 KONE’s business had evolved, and the logo was redesigned to represent the company’s international ambitions.

1968: KONE acquires the elevator and escalator business of Swe den's ASEA.

KONE opened a new elevator testing laboratory at the top of its 68-meter-high test tower in Hyvinkää, Finland, in the summer of 1976.

The company acquired Navire Cargo Gear in 1982 and International MacGregor, makers of shipboard cargo access equipment.

First to go was the company's conveyor and bul k handling businesses, which were sold off in 1986.

In 1987, after 60 years as a member of Kone's board of directors and 46 as its chairman, Heikki H. Herlin retired.

In 1990 the KONE logo was tweaked.

Next, the company's cargo access wing, MacGregor-Navire, was sold to Incentive Group, based in Sweden, in 1993.

In 1997 the company held maintenance and modernization contracts on more than 400,000 elevators worldwide.

In 1998 the company made a $29 million (US) investment in the construction of an elevator and escalator factory in Kunshan, China.

In 2000, Kone sold off the American factory in Winfield, KS to Wittur.

In 2002, Kone acquired Partek, a Finnish industrial engineering company with net sales equal to Kone's.

Antti Herlin was subsequently appointed the new chairman of the board in June 2003.

As the structure of Kone Materials Handling had changed significantly, the name Kone Cargotec was introduced in January 2004.

The transition was complete in June 2005 when both compa nies were listed as separate entities on the Helsinki Stock Exchange.

KONE celebrated its 100-year anniversary at its 1,000 locations around the world in 2010.

The iconic machine-room-less KONE MonoSpace® elevator was completely upgraded in 2012, resetting the industry benchmark with leading eco-efficient performance, premium ride comfort and award-winning design.

In April 2014, Alahuhta stepped down and Kone's CFO at the time, Henrik Ehrnrooth was appointed Alahuhta's successor.

In September 2015 KONE repositioned itself for the digital era, announcing the creation of a new Technology & Innovation unit that brings together KONE’s R&D and IT functions.

KONE supports you with achieving BREEAM International NC 2016 credits

2018 KONE’s Capital Markets Day 2018 was held in Helsinki on September 25, 2018.

Cohen, M.; Stansell, Christina "KONE Corporation ." International Directory of Company Histories. . Retrieved April 15, 2021 from Encyclopedia.com: https://www.encyclopedia.com/books/politics-and-business-magazines/kone-corporation