KONE's carbon fiber UltraRope was born in a Finnish sauna

KONE UltraRope; photo courtesy of KONE Corporation, Finland

A materials engineer from KONE (the reputed Finnish elevator company) took home an idea one day that he would like to explore how elevators could benefit from carbon fiber technology. With a bundle of carbon fibers in his hands, he began to braid the slender pieces together to find out how they might work together as a revolutionary type of rope that could be used to hoist the elevator car. When informed that his wife's oven was "off limits," he took the braid to his Finnish sauna to melt fibers together instead.

It is amazing that an invention with humble beginnings could have such a powerful impact on society. High rise buildings are grossly dependent upon the elevator. So, when KONE presented the carbon fiber hoisting rope design this summer, they indirectly started a building revolution that easily enables sky scrapers to reach heights of up to one kilometer. 

KONE's UltraRope carbon fiber hoisting rope allows an elevator to travel up to one kilometer in a single car ride as opposed to traditional steel fiber hoisting ropes that limit a single ride to 500 meters. The more efficient the vertical travel, the more likely a building can reach one kilometer; which is 170 meters taller than the record-breaking Burj Khalifa in Dubai.

Yes, steel is more cost-effective. O&M costs are a lot less, however. It is reasonable to expect the cost of carbon fiber to regulate in coming years. Most interesting is the fact that the carbon fiber hoisting ropes also save a tremendous amount of energy used to operate the elevators since the material is much lighter than steel. Materials costs are also saved as fewer elevators are needed to effectively move people through the building.

Even more interesting to me personally, as a mom of kids that love to invent all kinds of contraptions, is the reality that many world-shaking inventions really do have humble beginnings. KONE's story is a reminder to parents and kids alike, that we need to keep thinking and inventing, taking our ideas seriously, and encouraging our kids to keep their love for imagination alive.

A full article on this subject will appear in the upcoming Winter 2014 issue of Wire Rope Exchange magazine.