Otis elevator expects a lift in business in Thailand

With the Bangkok skyline growing more crowded and higher by the day, executives at Otis Elevator said last week they expect that Thailand’s building boom and infrastructure upgrade will create opportunities in the Kingdom for the United States-based company in coming years.

“In Thailand, coupled with rapid urbanization, there is a ramp up of public investment through a roll-out of new infrastructure projects, mostly related to enhancing urban transportation. There is also an increasing trend for mixed-use development,” said Ryan Mai, president of Otis Elevator for the South Asia Pacific region, which includes Thailand.

Major cities across Thailand and the region are steadily expanding in terms of population, creating new demand for housing, much of it in the high-rise sector because of limited city space. The United Nations said that 54 percent of the global population lived in urban areas in 2016, and that is projected to rise to 60 percent by 2030.In addition, economic growth in Thailand, particularly in Bangkok, is spurring rapid construction of new office buildings and mixed-use complexes centered onskyscrapers.

Otis has been operating in Thailand since 1959 and has been a major supplier of elevators to premier projects such as the Mandarin Oriental, Montien, Royal Cliff and Dusit Thani hotels. The company has also been chosen to supply 115 escalators and 68 elevators for the Red Line mass transit project in Bangkok, as well as 200 elevators and escalators for the Bang Sue Grand Station.

Thailand is also embarking on a massive infrastructure upgrade and Mai believes that will benefit business for Otis.

“While this will take time to bear fruit, it presents great opportunities for growth. That said, the external environment remains a complex confluence of cyclical and structural forces that is often beyond our control. What we can, and will always, do is strengthen our robustness by keeping ourselves flexible and nimble,” he added.

Otis is the world’s largest manufacturer of vertical transportation systems, principally elevators, escalators and moving walkways. The company was founded in in New York in 1853 and today is worth more than $13 billion and has over 64,000 employees worldwide.