An escalator at Sunae Station in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, which operated in reverse for a number of seconds and left 14 individuals injured, is cordoned off with tape and fences, on this June 2023 photograph. Yonhap
Hyundai Elevator joins forces with home SMEs
By Park Jae-hyuk
Korean escalator corporations have been competing towards their Chinese language counterparts, which have predominantly provided parts in Korea.
Hyundai Elevator has taken the lead in these efforts by establishing a three way partnership, Okay-Escalator, with small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) earlier this yr to renew home manufacturing of escalators and parts.
Final month, Okay-Escalator celebrated the opening of its manufacturing facility in Geochang County, South Gyeongsang Province.
“Frequent accidents and delayed provide of parts have induced security issues within the home escalator market, which has been dominated by low-cost overseas merchandise,” a Hyundai Elevator official stated.
Final yr, 14 individuals had been injured in Sunae Station in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, when an escalator geared up with parts imported from a Chinese language firm, all of a sudden reversed path for a number of seconds.
Chinese language parts had been discovered to have induced one other escalator accident in Yatap Station within the metropolis in 2013, which injured 39 individuals.
Hyundai Elevator CEO Cho Jae-cheon, eighth from left, poses with contributors on the launching ceremony for Okay-Escalator in Geochang County, South Gyeongsang Province, Sept. 25. Courtesy of Hyundai Elevator
Over the previous few a long time, Hanson Carry and different Chinese language corporations have overwhelmed Korean escalator corporations by providing excessively low costs in bids to produce escalators and parts to public services.
Most Korean companies have simply assembled and put in parts from China, as an alternative of manufacturing their very own merchandise. Hyundai Elevator has additionally provided escalators manufactured in its Chinese language subsidiary to scale back prices.
Moreover, the Elevator Security Administration Act contains clauses which are thought of extra favorable to escalator importers than home producers, because the legislation requests every importer to rent just one technical professional whereas asking every producer to have at the least three specialists.
In consequence, all escalators put in in stations below the supervision of Korea Railroad Corp. and Seoul Metro had been made with parts imported from China.
On the stations below the supervision of public transportation operators in Busan, Incheon and Daejeon, the proportion of escalators made with Chinese language parts surpassed 90 p.c.
Lawmakers have criticized the Korean escalator trade’s heavy reliance on China.
“When an escalator made with 100 parts malfunctions, it ought to cease till the import of at the least 94 parts from China,” stated Chung Woo-taik, who was the ruling Folks Energy Get together’s lawmaker on the twenty first Nationwide Meeting, throughout a parliamentary audit final October.
“By the home manufacturing of escalator parts, malfunctioning and worn-out parts needs to be changed instantly,” he added.
Nevertheless, it stays to be seen whether or not patrons will select high-priced Korean parts.
Hyundai Elevator expressed confidence that home escalator companies will go for Korean parts, citing their verified high quality and security.
