KONE listed as one of the world's most innovative companies by Forbes

KONE Corporation, press release, June 1, 2018

KONE, a global leader in the elevator and escalator industry, has once again been ranked as one of the world's most innovative companies in 2018, by business magazine Forbes. It is the eighth annual list of its kind, which demonstrates creative disruption and innovation. This year, KONE ranked 59th making it the 7th most innovative company in Europe. KONE is also the only elevator and escalator company featured on the list.

"We are proud to have been recognized for our innovation approach by Forbes. At KONE, technological disruption and changing customer expectations provide us great opportunities to add value for customers in new ways and differentiate from the competition," says Henrik Ehrnrooth, KONE President and CEO. "We also recognize that as urbanization continues to generate new needs for buildings and infrastructure, I am excited at the potential ahead for KONE to continue developing completely new experiences together with our customers."

Some of KONE's recent breakthrough innovations include KONE 24/7 Connected Services which uses cutting edge technologies to bring safety, transparency and predictability to services for elevators and escalators, predicting faults before they happen and monitoring equipment in real time. Earlier this year, the company also introduced a new digital platform to create integrated and tailored solutions for its customers and transform the people flow experience in buildings and cities. The company's innovative KONE UltraRope® elevator hoisting technology eliminates disadvantages of much heavier traditional steel ropes, and enables elevator travel heights of up to 1,000 meters.

The rating is based on an innovation premium: the difference between companies' market capitalization and the net present value of cash flows from existing businesses. The full list of the world's most innovative companies can be seen on Forbes' website.

For further information, please contact:
Liisa Kivelä, Director, Communications, KONE Corporation, tel. +358 204 75 4330 media@kone.com

Read more:
Previous press releases are available at http://www.kone.com/en/news-and-insights/releases/ including:

March 1, 2018: KONE introduces new digital platform and renews its products and services portfolio to better meet the opportunities of a connected world
January 30, 2018: KONE wins UltraRope order for Karlatornet, set to become the tallest building in the Nordics
February 8, 2017: KONE revolutionizes elevator maintenance with new customizable KONE Care(TM) service offering and 24/7 Connected Services

About KONE
At KONE, our mission is to improve the flow of urban life. As a global leader in the elevator and escalator industry, KONE provides elevators, escalators and automatic building doors, as well as solutions for maintenance and modernization to add value to buildings throughout their life cycle. Through more effective People Flow®, we make people's journeys safe, convenient and reliable, in taller, smarter buildings. In 2017, KONE had annual net sales of EUR 8.9 billion, and at the end of the year over 55,000 employees. KONE class B shares are listed on the Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd. in Finland. www.kone.com