KONE to Supply North America's first Jump Lift Elevators in New Toronto Residential Building

LISLE, Ill., Oct. 24, 2012 /CNW/ - KONE has won an order from Tucker HiRise and Great Gulf to provide elevators and escalators for its One Bloor project, a 75-story, mixed-use development in Toronto, Canada. KONE will provide a total of nine elevators and two escalators for the innovative project which features North America's first JumpLift installation, as well as Toronto's first installation of KONE Polaris™ Destination Control (DCS) technology.

The order consists of six KONE EcoSystem MR™ elevators, three MonoSpace® elevators and two escalators. Two of the three high-rise EcoSystem MR elevators will feature the innovative KONE JumpLift solution, which accelerates construction work and increases safety at the construction site. The KONE JumpLift uses temporary machine rooms within the building's permanent hoistways, which are moved up as the construction work progresses. At One Bloor, this process will continue for 24 months, after which the machines will be easily converted into permanent elevators.

KONE has experience installing JumpLift at sites around the world, yet this is the first time the technology will be used in North America.

The project will also feature KONE Polaris Destination Control system, making One Bloor by Great Gulf the first building in the Toronto region with this technology. The KONE Polaris system uses artificial intelligence to optimize elevator traffic patterns, increasing carrying capacity of the elevators, as well as reducing overall riding time and comfort for passengers.

"We are very pleased to work once again with Tucker HiRise to provide solutions that will improve the people flow not only during construction, but throughout the building's life," said Kelly Leitch, President and CEO of KONE Canada. "We know that the strong partnership we have built over the years was a key factor in their decision to pioneer JumpLift in North America."

KONE has most recently partnered with Tucker HiRise on the Clear Spirit and Gooderham condominium projects.

KONE will begin work on the project in 2014 and is expected to complete the installation by 2016.

For further information, please contact:
Kellie Lindquist, Marketing Manager, KONE Inc., tel. [phone]

About KONE
KONE is one of the global leaders in the elevator and escalator industry. The company has been committed to understanding the needs of its customers for the past century, providing industry-leading elevators, escalators and automatic building doors as well as innovative solutions for modernization and maintenance. The company's objective is to offer the best People Flow™ experience by developing and delivering solutions that enable people to move smoothly, safely, comfortably and without waiting in buildings in an increasingly urbanizing environment. In 2011, KONE had annual net sales of EUR 5.2 billion and on average 35,000 employees. KONE class B shares are listed on the NASDAQ OMX Helsinki Ltd in Finland.

www.kone.us

About Great Gulf
Founded in 1975, the Great Group of Companies has grown from its roots as a successful regional home builder into one of North America's premier real estate organizations specializing in residential, commercial/industrial/retail and resort development, spanning the entire real estate spectrum from land acquisition to development and construction.

SOURCE: KONE

http://www.kone.us