Much to the delight of Jakob Zueger, chief executive officer of Schindler Americas, a $40 million contract has been awarded the company in an effort to put into placement effective solutions for the modernization of LA International Airport.

Jakob Zueger was stated as saying, “We are proud to have been chosen as the supplier of the equipment for the LAX rejuvenation and look forward to working with Los Angeles World Airports on this vital project.”

What will the $40 million contracted to Schindler be used for?

In addition to the 70 escalators, elevators, and moving walks that will be supplied by the company, Schindler will use the money to remove and replace four moving walks, modernize and update six hydraulic passenger elevators, as well as replace 60 escalators.

This major modernization overhaul at LA International Airport will also include new gates that will easily accommodate the Airbus A380; a refurbishing of the Main Tom Bradley International Terminal; as well as the airport’s own terminals.

All in all, a total of 28 elevators, moving walks, and escalators will eventually be updated and modernized at LAX.

The Schindler Group was no doubt chosen due to their extensive tract record.

Labeled as a leading global mobility provider, Schindler can be found in more than 140 countries; provides mobility in many of the world’s public transport networks and major airports; and has found success in their most recent contracts which include Germany’s recent Berlin-Brandenburg International Airport, as well as a new subway system for Mumbai, India.

An avid supporter of sustainable urban development, Schindler provides its clients with reliable, safe, and ecologically sound mobility solutions, this Switzerland based company designs, installs, manufactures, modernizes, and services escalator and elevator systems for practically every building type.

A 10 year contract has been signed between KONE and ProRail for the installation and maintenance of 175 new elevators, making them partners during this duration. The contract also states that KONE is one of their two preferred suppliers for this project. Within this contract, it also defines the maintenance period as 25 years.

ProRail is in charge of the construction and maintenance of the Netherlands’s national railway network. It is also responsible for managing this railway network and ensuring its security. More than 3200 employers perform their duties to make sure that 1,200,000 passengers and 100,000 barrels of goods are transported safely and reach their destination promptly every day.

According to the Project Director of ProRail, Patrick Buck, installing these elevators is a part of their 10 year plan, namely the Accessibility Implementation Plan to enhance accessibility of their stations. He also says that these elevators would make their platforms more accessible and this in turn would make travel easier and more convenient for their travelers.

Noud Veeger, EVP and Area Director of KONE for Central and North Europe was honored that KONE was selected as one of the partners as this shows the confidence ProRail has placed on KONE. He also proceeds to mention that KONE’s strengths in installation and delivery processes, maintenance methods and solutions are the factors that led to the success of this new agreement being implemented.

A recent story about a DP Technology product, the Esprit 2010 was reported on February 23, 2010. DP Technology is a California based privately owned corporation established in 1982 by Daniel Frayssinet and Paul Ricard.

Their highly technical computer products for use in manufacturing will be showcased at the Puerto Rico Convention Center in San Juan, Puerto Rico that is set to happen beginning on March 4 in Puerto Rico. Their latest high performance , full spectrum, computerized manufacturing system is the ESPRIT which has a full range of machine tool applications.

Officials from DP Technolgy will be at the Convention Center in Puerto Rico to answer questions on how the ESPRIT functions and what upgrades are available along with information on how to apply those upgrades.

The ESPRIT 2010 computerized model improves the functionality of integrated multi tasking and mill turn machine tools. What the company or DP Technology wants to showcase is the innovative design of the ESPRIT 2010.

In technical manufacturing language the company has designed “all Esprit milling and turning machining capability, from two axis turning to five axis milling, is available for any type of mill turn machine tool, including lathes that perform milling, mills that perform turning, Swiss style machines and other integrated mill turn machining centres.” The information can be found in total on dp.technology.com.

The information released to the press states that support for multi tasking machine tools has been improved by using technology that allows choice in cutting tool configuration and orientations thus helping to support more and different type of machines. .

Basically, the Esprit 2010 has been re structured by adding capabilities for three or more rotary axes that benefits the owner of the ESPRIT to computer programing to simulate complex machine tools. The enhanced functioning of the ESPRIT is advertised as reducing EDM or Electrical Discharge Machining programming time from 160 minutes to 1 minute. This amazing saving in man hours is sure to have an impact on the future of manufacturing capabilities and work hours required by human intervention.

DP Technology will showcase their latest futuristic manufacturing marvel at Interphenex Puerto Rico, on March 4 and 5 in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

According to researchers at Yale University, sponsors of an electric forklift development program, their new VL electric forklift truck is the most energy efficient and ergonomically advanced counterbalance series available in its weight capacity, which ranges from 2,200 to 3,500 kilograms. This vehicle features five wheelbase and capacity configurations and is designed for both indoor and outdoor use. This forklift truck works especially well in areas where space is at its best.

Other features included on this new VL series include easy access, a three-point entry, adequate floor space, right-hand access, large amount of head room, cushioned arm and palm rests, levers that can be controlled by the fingertips, a full suspension seat, and a heads up display. All of these features work to make the operator as comfortable as possible, and to reduce the occurrence of repetitive stress injuries and body vibrations.

This new forklift truck also enables the customer to decide which operating setting is most suitable for their business. This is called Yale’s e-balance technology. The customer can choose either the high productivity setting or the energy efficiency setting, depending upon their needs. While engaged in the high productivity setting, the forklift will provide maximum traction and hydraulic performance. When the vehicle is operating in the energy efficiency setting, it has been shown through the VDI 2198 standard test to consume 20 percent less energy than the same vehicle manufactured by leading competitors.

Another feature of the VL series forklift truck is the Yalestop Automatic Park Brake. This comes standard on all new electric counterbalance forklift trucks manufactured by Yale, and is automatically enabled when the vehicle is stopped or when the operator is not in place on the seat. This helps to improve the driver’s control over the truck on ramps and steep grades. It also works to increase the productivity of the vehicle when the driver is continuously getting on and off the vehicle. By implementing the use of the Yalestop Automatic Park Brake, the need for alarms or other buzzers used to alert the operator of the forklift truck that the handbrake has not been set is eliminated.

Because of the prompt initiation measures during the economically hard financial year of 2009, Schindler was able to increase their net profit relative to that of the previous year by 3% to CHF 653 million. In the escalator and elevator business, the operating profits rose by 7.5% to CHF 962 million, and EBIT margins increased from 10.2% to 11.6%. After a previous year’s loss of about CHF 11 million, ALSO was able to attain a profit of about CHF 15 million, and this was despite the special amortization charge of about CHF 11 million, in the year that was reporting.

In this economically harsh environment, consolidated operating revenue has fallen by 9.5% to CHF 12,691 million in the year that is reporting. In the local type of currencies, the decrease was one of 5.9%. Consolidated operating profit despite all has increased by 9.6% to CHF 974 million, because of the measures that were initiated promptly in both of the business segments to make up for the effects of the economic downturn. After the restructuring costs and a amortization charge that totaled altogether CHF 44 million after taxes, net profit still reached CHF 653 million.

The consolidation or the order backlog at CHF 6,341 million was caused by the escalator and elevator business, and this saw only a slight decline of 0.9%. The number of hired personnel in the Group fell by 3.6% down to 43,437 employees.

The number of orders received was CHF 8,418 million, a decline of 9.1% when compared with the previous year. The fourth quarter brought an order intake that rose up by 7% to the same quarter of the year before. The slight drop in the orders that were received mainly affected the installations business in Spain, the UK, the US, Australia and some Eastern Europe markets. The operating revenue fell by 5.5% to CHF 8,281 million. Because of the measures that we initiated quickly, the profit from operating rose by 7.5% which equaled CHF 962 million, and the operating margin overall improved from 10.2 % to 11.6 %.

Despite a loss of about CHF 11 million the year before and regardless of a amortization loss of CHF 11 million for their discontinuance of the old GNT name ALSO returned to profit as they earned CHF 15 million in the year that was reporting.

KONE, a global leader in the escalator and elevator industry, has acquired ASBA Mantenimientos S.L. ASBA Mantenimientos is a Spanish elevator company based. It is based in Barcelona, and is one of the largest local providers of elevator repair and maintenance. The company provides new elevator and related equipment sales and installation. They also work to help safely integrate elevator systems into existing buildings that were designed without elevator shafts.  ASBA Mantenimientos has a maintenance pool of over 1,800 elevators, and has 35 employees, including all maintenance technicians.

“This acquisition strengthens KONE’s position in Spain and helps us improve our maintenance and modernization operations in the Catalonia region,” stated Eric Maziol, Area Director and EVP of West and South Europe, as well as the Middle East for KONE.

KONE’s current operations in Spain will integrate ASBA’s maintenance base and sales force.

About KONE

KONE is one of the largest elevator and escalator companies in the world, and leads the industry. The company began in 1910, and will celebrate one hundred years of operation in 2010. KONE’s main goal is to optimize people flow and movement. They constantly work to develop and install new solutions for transporting people quickly, efficiently, and safely. Comfort also plays a large role in the design process. Elevator and escalator designs by the company help reduce waiting and lines, as well as opening access to handicapped or otherwise movement limited people that cannot climb stairs.

KONE has been providing the best elevators and escalators in the industry for a century, combined with innovation and creative solutions. They help modernize even the oldest buildings, and provide much needed maintenance or upgrades for older elevator systems. KONE understands the desires and requirements of its customers and works to adapt to new technologies and developments as quickly as possible. This is one of the reasons KONE can offer such high class service in the people movement industry.

KONE reported annual net sales at EUR 4.7 billion for 2009. They employ around 34,000 employees in all of their worldwide branches, and have plans to continue growing in the new decade. KONE will continue to strive to lead the industry in safety, innovation, and competitive elevator and escalator solutions. Class B shares for KONE are traded in Finland on NASDAQ OMX Helsinki Ltd.