Thyssenkrupp sees connected elevators lifting profit

HANOVER - Thyssenkrupp sees the connection of elevators to the internet potentially lifting its profits by a double-digit million-euro amount, the head of its elevator business told Reuters in an interview.

The German steel-to-submarines group is preparing to roll out connected elevators to six more countries this year after piloting the system in the United States, Germany and Spain, and aims to hook up at least 100,000 units by mid-2017.

Connecting elevators to the internet allows the companies that service them to see remotely when faults appear or are about to develop, enabling them to save money and time on repairs, which can be shared between suppliers and customers.

Manufacturers of all kinds are racing to connect their products to the internet. Predictive maintenance is one area of early adoption whose business model is evident.

"In January alone, we repaired 1,000 lifts in the United States before the customer told us they were broken," Andreas Schierenbeck told Reuters in an interview at the Hannover Messe, the world's biggest industrial fair. -Reuters