Schindler elevators
| Schindler Elevators AG
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|---|---|
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| legal form | Corporation |
| founding | 1874 |
| Seat | Ebikon , Switzerland |
| management | Thomas Oetterli, CEO |
| Number of employees | 58,271 (2018) |
| sales | 10.9 billion CHF (2018) |
| Branch | mechanical engineering |
| Website | www.schindler.com |
The Schindler Elevator Ltd. is a Swiss company with headquarters in Ebikon in the canton of Lucerne , which is active since 1874 in the international construction and maintenance of elevators and escalators.
The subsidiary of the Hergiswil- based Schindler Holding largely determines the operational business of the “Elevators & Escalators” division. After Otis Elevator Company, Schindler is the world's second largest manufacturer of elevator systems and the largest manufacturer of escalators and moving walks.
In September 2017, the core business “Elevators & Escalators” employed more than 60,000 people worldwide and generated sales of 9.6 billion Swiss francs in the 2016 financial year .
history
The company was founded by Robert Schindler in Lucerne in 1874 and initially manufactured agricultural machinery. The manufacture of electrically operated elevators began in 1892 and, due to the hotel building boom at the end of the 19th century, became by far the most important business area. The first branch abroad was founded in Berlin in 1906 . During the First World War , Schindler also produced ammunition . In 1929 the holding "Pars Finanz" was established as the parent company of the group.
Schindler installed an escalator for the first time in 1936, and a year later the first overseas operating facility was opened in Brazil . After the Second World War there was a diversification of production; Schindler now also manufactured construction cranes, motors and pumps. The production of rail and tram cars in the Pratteln plant, which began in 1945, was of great importance . In 1956, Pars Finanz acquired a 30 percent stake in the Schweizerische Wagons- und Aufzügefabrik (SWS) in Schlieren and took over the company four years later, making the railway business an important pillar of Schindler's.
In 1957 the parent company moved from Lucerne to the neighboring town of Ebikon , and in 1961 the subsidiary SWS built the world's first elevator with transistor control. From 1970 Pars Finanz operated as Schindler Holding . 1974 began with the establishment of the Jardine Schindler Group , a joint venture with Jardine Matheson Holdings , the expansion into the Asian region. This presence was expanded in 1980 with CSE China Schindler Elevators , the first joint venture between a western industrial group and a Chinese state-owned company (fully owned by Schindler since 2000). Entry into the US elevator market took place in 1979 with the takeover of the Haughton Elevator Company . Ten years later, Schindler took over the elevator and escalator division of Westinghouse Electric Corporation .
In 1988 Schindler entered the IT distribution business with the takeover of Also AG . After the SWS plant in Schlieren was closed in 1985, the remaining railway business was outsourced as Schindler Waggon in 1993 and finally sold three years later. In 1997, “Schindler Mobile”, a new type of elevator system, was presented in which the drive is mounted under the cabin. In 1998 Schindler acquired the German Haushahn GmbH , a year later the majority of the shares in Elevadores Atlas in Brazil. In 2000, Schindler introduced the world's first fully synthetic elevator rope, and in 2009 it was taken over by the Saudi Elevator Corporation.
In February 2007, the EU Commission imposed a record-breaking cartel fine against Schindler and four other companies that were involved in the elevator and escalator cartel . The Commission found that between 1995 and 2004, contracts had been split among themselves so that each company could maintain its market share. On February 21, 2007, Schindler immediately announced that it would be contesting the fine. The proceedings are still pending (as of May 2012).
Major projects
In 1979 Schindler began building high-performance systems. For example, a system was installed in the Nuremberg telecommunications tower that covers 6.3 meters per second at a delivery height of 193 meters. In 1988 Schindler installed 24 high-performance elevators and four escalators in Europe's tallest office building, the Messeturm in Frankfurt am Main .
The Hammetschwand lift on the Bürgenstock near Lucerne, Europe's highest free-standing elevator, is technically supported by Schindler and was completely refurbished in 1990.
The Torre Schindler in Seville was named after the company.
Schindler in Germany
Today's Schindler Deutschland AG & Co. KG was entered in the Berlin commercial register in 1906 as the first foreign subsidiary of the Swiss company under the name "Special factory for electric elevators with automatic push-button control" . In order to be close to customers in West Germany, too, Schindler founded bases in Neuss , Hamburg , Frankfurt and Würzburg in 1954 . In 1977 the company entered the escalator and moving walk market in Germany.
In the 1990s, Schindler continued the strategy of acquisitions in Germany that had already been started in the 1980s, and opened up the market in eastern Germany. New companies were also added in the west. With the takeover of Haushahn , based in Stuttgart, on December 17, 1998, the fifth largest German elevator company at the time, Schindler rose to become the market leader in Germany and has held this position to this day. In June 2016, Schindler Holding bought the East German lift manufacturer FB (FB Group), which will be incorporated into Schindler Germany.
criticism
According to a report by c't magazin.tv, older Schindler elevator models in particular are suspected of making emergency calls to landline connections of uninvolved people instead of the responsible control room due to their age-related faulty functioning of the pulse dialing devices. However, according to c't, the Schindler company sees no acute need for action and suspects the reason for the misconduct outside of its area of responsibility. The release of phone numbers and addresses of affected elevators to Deutsche Telekom AG , so that it can measure the correct functioning of the voting machines, was refused (up to the editorial deadline for the article). Following the reporting by c't, Schindler also assured that no elevator emergency calls would be lost. The affected persons were then compensated by the company.
Web links
- Schindler Elevators (Switzerland)
- Schindler Elevators (Germany)
- Schindler Elevators (Austria)
- Andreas Vonmoos: Schindler. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
- Schindler feels "Chinese flu" , NZZ from August 16, 2016
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b 2018 annual financial statements (PDF, 7 MB) Schindler Elevators, 2016, p. 6 , accessed on November 6, 2019 .
- ↑ The EU imposes record fines on the lift cartel. Neue Zürcher Zeitung , February 22, 2007, accessed on March 28, 2019 .
- ↑ a b Chronicle. Schindler Elevators Germany, accessed May 19, 2012 .
- ↑ press. (No longer available online.) Schindler Elevators Germany, archived from the original on June 16, 2016 ; accessed on June 16, 2016 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Schindler buys German lift manufacturer. Neue Luzerner Zeitung, accessed on November 7, 2018 .
- ↑ a b Beware of the customer: Telephone terrorism - if the elevator rings three times. c't magazin.tv , April 9, 2011, accessed on May 19, 2012 .
- ↑ "Obligation to Observe". In: c't 11/2011, p. 10.
- ↑ Berliner Kurier, edition of May 4, 2011, p. 10.
