Semperit has been manufacturing handrails for almost 70 years, initially in Austria, then also in China and the USA. The company now supplies the whole world. What’s special about handrails made by Semperit is that you can rely on them even under the most difficult conditions, whether it’s +50 °C in Las Vegas or -20 °C in the Austrian Alps.
“I love them all,” says Dennis Zhang, just back from a business trip through China. And by that he means the many showcase projects in Asian cities where Semperit handrails ensure that people reach their destination safely. Semperit’s General Manager China & Asia Pacific doesn’t want to name a favourite project, but two in particular remain in his memory: the National Grand Theatre in Beijing with its impressive escalator, and Lhasa Airport in Tibet, where the Semperit handrails rotate in lofty heights of around 3,600 metres. Knowing that every third handrail in the world is made by Semperit, the choice is not easy. In Europe, the market share is around three quarters, in America and Asia around 40 percent. In total, Semperit handrails are used in escalators and moving staircases in more than 80 countries worldwide.
“And we want to continue to grow. The conditions, particularly in Asia, are good. Due to the high level of investment in infrastructure, demand remains high. Unlike in Europe and America, where a large part of our turnover comes from the service and spare parts business, the majority of our business here is still in new systems, for example for airports, metro and railway stations. The switch from road to rail is also playing into our hands here,” Dennis says. The aim is to win over new customers with Semperit’s typical reliability and high product and service quality.
“And we want to continue to grow."
Dennis Zhang, General Manager China & Asia Pacific Semperit
Shiny prospects
Semperit has been present in Shanghai for almost 30 years with its own handrail factory, now the largest in the world, and supplies the entire Asia-Pacific region from here. According to Dennis, the company has developed rapidly: “In 2000, we produced 100,000 metres, broke through the one-million-metre barrier in 2010, and with almost 2.0 million metres at present, we are already scratching the next milestone.” The manager, who has been on board with Semperit for 14 years, sees many attractive target markets in Asia: “I’m thinking of India, for example, where we are only at ten percent of Chinese demand. And, of course, Japan and South Korea. With our latest product line, we have already been able to gain a good foothold in Japan in recent years, as it meets the technical requirements of the linear drive stairs commonly used there.”
But not only the escalator drive system in Japan is completely different from that in Europe, so are the design requirements: “The Japanese and the overall Asian market is often enthusiastic about shiny, shimmering surfaces in different colours, in contrast to the black and matt handrails that are often used elsewhere. We have coloured handrails in our range, but the glossy finish has not been possible with our existing handrails. This will soon change with our next innovation, the hybrid handrail. But I don’t want to reveal any more about that yet,” Dennis says with anticipation and promises to tell us more next time.
Sustainable solutions
Dennis and the global Semperit handrail team will certainly not be bored in the future. The requirements will continue to increase, for example with regard to sustainability. “Recycling is the big innovation trend; the topic has gained massive momentum. We want to give our customers an advantage here too and are working on new product solutions with significant recycled content,” Dennis says, looking ahead. With innovations such as these, Semperit wants to further expand its market position and inspire customers such as Schindler, Kone, TKE, OTIS, Hitachi, Mitsubishi Electric, Fujitec, Toshiba, Canny, SJEC and so on – from Hawaii to Tokyo, from Helsinki to Johannesburg, from Dubai to Moscow, from Vienna to Shanghai.
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