Malaysia's economic prospects are bright and demand for elevators in the low- to mid-rise building segments is expected
to be strong, says Schindler Lifts (Singapore) Pte Ltd.

Its managing director, Hugo Martinho, said the elevator market will continue its impressive growth in the next three to five years.

"Each of the individual South-East Asia market is uniquely attractive with different market dynamics and strong growth potential and Malaysia is one of them," he told Bernama in Kuala Lumpur today.

Martinho said the company aimed to introduce its new and exciting product –- PORT technology –- to all countries it has a presence in via the Jardine Schindler Group network.

PORT (Personal Occupant Requirement Terminal) technology is an intelligent transit management elevator system.

He said the technology revolutionised the way people move through buildings while at the same time delivered exceptional outcomes in traffic and energy efficiencies and enhanced building security.

"With PORT technology, it is no longer simply about using a lift to get from one place in the building to another, but about delivering a personalised experience for the user during his transit in a smarter and more efficient way.

"It offers fundamental improvements in building design and management.

"By planning every occupant's journey around a building and providing them with the means to reach their destinations quickly and easily, transit management optimises the operation of the entire building with integrated access, guidance, transportation and security," he said.

Martinho said PORT Technology also offered a highly-customised level of service that also took into account the needs of people with restricted mobility, while saving energy and optimising the flow of traffic within the building.

"The result of this is more rentable space, lower energy consumption and better security," he said.

PORT technology could be installed in any new or existing building structure, be it a high-rise skyscraper, an intelligent office tower, a mixed-use complex, a luxury condominium, a hotel, a campus-like building or a hospital with no disruption to the building's operation, he said.

Asked which market was the biggest contributor to Schindler, Martinho said, while the company could not pinpoint the market specifically, Singapore would continue to be a key market for Schindler in the years to come.

He said Schindler, like most companies, was sometimes impacted by the effects of the global economy, particularly on the aspect of currency risks.

However, he said, Schindler viewed these events as opportunities to look at ways to improve itself.

"Some of areas we look at include reducing our response time and increasing our service productivity. Our focus is always on continuing to offer top quality products that feature the latest technology to ensure our customers enjoy the most operationally and energy efficient building transportation solutions," he
said.

Martinho said the company has grown over the years and its principal activities now included sales, installation, repair and maintenance of Schindler lifts, escalators and moving walks.

Globally, Schindler Group has a presence in over 100 countries and has close to 44,500 employees and moves one billion people every day. Of these, over 100 million are in Southeast Asia.

Jardine Schindler Group is headquartered in Hong Kong and has operating companies in Brunei, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Macau, Malaysia, Myanmar, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Taiwan and Vietnam. -- BERNAMA