KUALA LUMPUR: Otis Elevator Company (M) Sdn Bhd - which provides its elevators for the Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC) towers, KL Tower, and Menara Maybank - expects the year ahead to be challenging for its business as the weakened ringgit puts pressure on the construction industry in Malaysia.
Otis Malaysia managing director Daniel Daphne said the company was cautious going forward even though orders are going up as the impact of the ringgit on imports is putting some challenges and pressure on the entire construction business.
However, he said that the company is confident as it one of the biggest players in Malaysia in the elevator category and has enjoyed double digit growth for the past six years, recording US$100 million in billed sales here last year.
Bora Gulan, Otis' Vice President of Global Major Projects at the company's global headquarters in London said that despite China slowing down and Europe "looking flat", other markets continue to drive Otis' business globally.
"Today, in terms of the construction market and those (businesses) related to the elevator market, North Europe, the U.S., the Middle East and Southeast Asia - with Malaysia expected to continue to grow - are driving the business," Gulan said.
Daphne and Gulan were both speaking to journalists here today at the Otis high-rise conference and exhibition.