Schindler Group

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The Schindler Group
Type Public
Genre Corporate histories
Founded Lucerne, Switzerland (1874)
Founder Robert Schindler and Eduard Villiger
Headquarters Ebikon, Switzerland
Key people Alfred N. Schindler (Chairman)
Industry Vertical transportation
Products Elevators, Escalators
Revenue CHF13,835 million (2007), ▲ 24.6% from 2006
Employees 44,000 (2006)
Parent Schindler Holding Ltd
Website The Schindler Group
Schindler Test Tower in Ebikon, Lucerne, Switzerland
Schindler Test Tower in Ebikon, Lucerne, Switzerland

The Schindler Group is the largest manufacturer of escalators and the second largest manufacturer of elevators. Schindler installs and maintains elevators and escalators in all kind of buildings (Residential, Commercial and High-Rise). The company is present in more than 130 countries and employs 43,000 persons worldwide. The production facilities are located in Austria, Brazil, China, France, Slovakia, Spain and the USA [1].

Schindler's Miconic 10, the company's name for their proprietary control system, was the industry first of an innovative type of control systems now known as a destination-based dispatching. The system features keypads and LED screens instead of hall button stations whereby riders enter their desired floor before entering an elevator car. The system then directs the rider to a specific elevator car while grouping riders traveling to nearby floors together. Schindler claims this minimizes the number of stops, and decreases congestion and travel time-- especially during peak traffic periods.[2]

The second business division of the Schindler Holding is the ALSO Group. It is a wholesale and logistics company in the information and communications technology sector and the consumer electronics sector. The ALSO is doing business mainly in Switzerland and Germany.

[edit] Company History

The company was founded in Switzerland in 1874, by Robert Schindler and Eduard Villiger who establish the collective joint partnership Schindler & Villiger. Shortly thereafter, a mechanical engineering workshop was built on an island in the River Reuss in Lucerne, Switzerland, for the production of lifting equipment and machines of all types.

Schindler entered the North American elevator market with the purchase of Toledo, OH based Haughton Elevator Company in 1979-- briefly branding their products as Schindler-Haughton. In 1989, the company dramatically increased their presence in the United States after acquiring the Elevator/Escalator division of Westinghouse Electric, one of the largest producers elevators and escalators at the time. Currently, Schindler Elevator Corporation, the United States operations of Schindler Group, is based in Morristown, NJ[3]

[edit] External links