TOKYO (XFN-ASIA) - Swiss elevator company Schindler has apologized, while defending its record, after an accident that killed a teenage boy triggered fierce criticism in Japan.
Roland W Hess, president of Schindler Holding AG's escalator and elevator division, flew into Tokyo and offered a Japanese-style bow of apology to a packed news conference broadcast live on some networks, Agence France-Presse reported.
A 16-year-old boy was killed earlier this month when an elevator at a Tokyo condominium suddenly rose with its doors open, wedging him in the gap.
'As for any equipment which has been manufactured by Schindler around the world and is functioning around the world, we feel very responsible for that equipment,' Hess said.
'I am very sorry that this perception has been created that we are manufacturing deadly elevators. I would like to stress that there are very few accidents and fatalities for elevators and for Schindler elevators.
'Indeed, elevators are very safe means of transportation. We never, never had a fatality due to product designs,' he told the news conference.
Lucerne-based Schindler is the world's number two elevator maker but holds only a 1 pct share of the Japanese market.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Police raided local subsidiary Schindler Elevator KK, the maintenance firm and related locations over the boy's death.
The company reiterated that the cause of the accident that killed the boy is not known and is under investigation by local authorities. But Schindler has suggested that poor maintenance might have played a role.
Hess emphasized that Schindler has more than a mln elevators around the world operating safely and that it is fully cooperating with local authorities to investigate its safety record in Japan.
Hess said the Japanese reaction to the accident was more intense than other countries because of the Japanese public's regard for technological safety.
He said Schindler is determined to stay in the market, ruling out suggestions that the company was targetted because it is foreign.
'We have reputation to defend. We want to gain again the confidence of the riding public. That is our first priority,' Hess said.
'Regarding Schindler Japan, of course, we want to grow in this country. This is an extremely important country in the elevator industry. We would like to play an important role in this country.'
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