Living in the 21st floor of a high-rise building in Makati, I use the elevator more often than I brush my teeth on a daily basis. I wait for it, spend several seconds inside it, and go crazy when I chance upon it during its monthly preventive maintenance.
Admittedly, I never really gave much attention to them. I mean, yes, I know it takes me from Point A to Point B, but I never noticed it. Makes sense?
So when I was invited to the launch of IFE Philippines--a Chinese brand of elevators and escalators--I was seriously interested. When we got to talk to the IFE officials, it was like Elevators 101.
“Aside from high reliability, our products cost about 20 percent lower compared to leading vertical transport brands. But the quality is at par if not better than theirs,” said Manuel Carlos Ilagan, the company’s president, during the recent launch of IFE Elevators Philippines.
Ilagan was impressed by IFE Elevators’ multimillion global production center in China, which can produce up to 10,000 elevators and escalators every year. This caters to products distributed in over 30 countries including Hong Kong, Singapore, and India in Asia; United Arab Emirates and Iran in the Middle East; Nigeria and Congo in Africa; Venezuela and Chile in South America; and in Australia.
Since IFE started operations in China 24 years ago, the company has grown to more than 1,200 employees in 33 branches. The business apparently grows about 30 percent every year on the back of innovative products.
"We already have the necessary resources and competent technical personnel that will take care of all concerns regarding the business,” said IFE Elevators Philippines general manager Francis Ondoy during the press conference.
Ondoy said there are several reasons why they decided to distribute IFE Elevators in the Philippines. One is that IFE Elevators is already a fast-growing brand that is recognized not only in China but practically in every continent in the world
“The brand is experiencing continuous growth nowadays primarily because of its flexible designs that can ably suit the needs of clients or builders. Aside from that, the company provides excellent technical support and after-sales service that is very much essential in the elevator business. This is one aspect that many big elevator companies often neglect,” he said.
Because of the company's 20 years of experience, IFE elevators apparently possess the same level of accuracy, safety and quality that other more established counterparts have. For the Philippine market, Ondoy said that IFE Elevators Philippines will offer several products such as Vertical Lifts, elevator types such as Passenger and Freight, Hospital Bed, Scenic or Panoramic, “Dumbwaiter,” and Home Lifts.
While every sale is crucial (the company aims to sell at least 15 units a month), Ilagan said they would focus on mid-rise establishments this year. Interesting. I guess we'll have to wait for a couple more months, at least, before we start seeing if IFE Philippines can, in fact, penetrate the market as successfully as they hope.
To know more about IFE Elevators and its products, visit http://www.ifelift.com or http://www.ife.cn.
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