Schindler is the second largest producer of elevators and escalators in the world. With close to 45,000 workers deployed worldwide, elevators and escalators is the core business of the group’s parent company, the Schindler Holding Ltd. Its branches and subsidiaries span more than 130 countries. It has factories and R&D facilities in North America, Latin America, China and Europe.
Schindler’s escalators are divided into four segments: commercial escalators, escalators used in public transport terminals, inclined moving walkways, and horizontal moving walkways specifically used in shopping malls.
The story of Schindler started in 1874 when Robert Schindler and Eduard Villiger opened a partnership. Their business venture was a mechanical engineering shop focused on the production of lifting equipments and other machineries.
Needless to say, the company grew through the years. Within its first twenty years, the partnership was able to manufacture water-driven and hydraulic-supported elevators. The company produced its first electric elevator in 1892. That same year, Villiger decided to withdraw from the partnership. Schindler continued the business and changed the name of the company to Robert Schindler, Machinery Manufacturer.
In 1979, Schinlder acquired Ohio’s Haughton Elevator Company and entered the North American market for the first time. The company started as Schindler-Haughton until the acquisition of Westinghouse Electric escalator division. The acquisition increased Schindler’s presence in the US market. The US operations were based in Morristown, New Jersey.
Schindler moved to the emerging markets in Asia. In 2006, the company acquired 25% of the shares of Hyundai Elevator Co. Ltd., the second largest manufacturer of elevators and escalators in South Korea. Then in May 2008, Schindler and Patni Computer Systems Ltd. of Inda formed a partnership to develop test services for double-deck elevators Schindler wanted to manufacture.