Hyundai Elevator seeks to join NEOM project through Chinese subsidiary

The factory of Hyundai Elevator's Chinese subsidiary in Shanghai / Courtesy of Hyundai Elevator

By Park Jae-hyuk

Hyundai Elevator expressed optimism about possible participation in the mega project to build NEOM in Saudi Arabia via the company's Chinese subsidiary, which celebrated its 30th anniversary on Thursday.

“It is expected to play a role as an outpost for the projects to build Saudi Arabia's NEOM smart city and Indonesia's new capital,” said the elevator firm, which is participating in the government-led team of Korean companies seeking to win orders related to the overseas construction projects.

The remarks came after Hyundai Group Chairwoman Hyun Jeong-eun met with NEOM CEO Nadhmi Al-Nasr last month at the Saudi Arabian state-run company's exhibition in Seoul, where Hyundai Elevator showcased its smart city technologies.

In her congratulatory message for the 30th anniversary of Hyundai Elevator's subsidiary in Shanghai, Hyun asked employees to dream of further growth by overcoming new challenges at the place where the elevator firm took its first step toward globalization three decades ago.

Hyundai Elevator also vowed to increase its share in the Chinese market to 5.9 percent by 2030 from the current 1 percent.

“By increasing our sales in the high-end market through product diversification and optimization and by expanding our presence in the remodeling market in the medium to long run, we will win 2.2 trillion won ($1.7 billion) worth of orders, post 2 trillion won in annual sales and become one of the world's top five elevator makers by 2030,” Hyundai Elevator CEO Cho Jae-cheon said.

Founded in 1993 as a joint venture with a Chinese partner, Shanghai Hyundai Elevator was transformed into a fully owned subsidiary of the Korean firm in 2014. With an annual production capacity of around 25,000 elevators, escalators and moving walkways, the subsidiary has over 600 workers.