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Schindler Marine - History on the seven seas

04.04.2019

Our elevators have been floating on the seven seas for more than 50 years. With cruise ships getting bigger and bigger, the demand for vertical mobility on these cruising colossuses constantly increases.

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Corporate Communications
Phone: + 41 41 445 30 60
corporate.communications@schindler.com

It all started in 1963 when Schindler Italy was asked to install elevators on board two Costa ships called Eugenio and Flavia. At that time, the installed units didn’t differ from the products that were used in regular installations on land and came without any special features for use at sea.

More than twenty years later, in 1988, Fincantieri – today one of the largest shipbuilding companies in the world, based in Trieste, Italy – awarded Schindler the contract to install its elevators on board two of their new flagships, the “Crown Princess” and the “Regal Princess”. Then just two years later, Mariotti shipyard, based in Genoa, Italy, assigned Schindler to supply the elevators for the “Costa Allegra”, build on behalf of the shipping company Costa Crociere (also known as Costa Cruises).

The birth of Schindler Marine

Two years later, following some major orders for elevators on cruise ships and ferries, Schindler Italy officially asked the Group to create a business unit dedicated to marine projects. Even though the marine business was and remains a niche market, the initiators were convinced that such a unit could have a great impact on the business as well as on the image of the whole company.

This far-sighted strategic idea led to the establishment in 1994 of the Marine Competence Center, based in Milan. Schindler Marine was born, run by a specialized team fully dedicated to the design, procurement, sales and installation of elevators and escalators on board cruise ships and ferries.

In 1996, a second string was established in Miami, USA. The strategic choice of this location allowed Schindler Marine to win significant maintenance contracts from major ship owners such as Carnival Cruise Lines and Holland America Line.

In the following years, orders for new installations gained in importance and Schindler Marine strengthened its worldwide leading position as a supplier of choice for the cruise ship market serving the largest and most prestigious cruise owners.

In 2003, Schindler Marine won their probably most prestigious award so far. They were chosen to supply 49 installations for Cunard’s “Queen Mary 2”, which was built at Chantiers de l'Atlantique shipyard in France. The ship was 344m long and was at the time the largest passenger ship ever built.

Last year, our PORT Technology was brought to the high seas for the first time in history. Schindler Marine supplied the “Carnival Horizon”, Carnival Cruise Line’s newest cruise ship, with 33 elevators and 4 escalators. 16 of these elevators are equipped with the PORT Technology to enable a smooth and efficient embarkation and debarkation process for up to 4,500 passengers.

Today, Schindler Marine is a global leader in mobility solutions at sea and its installations can be found on many of the world’s cruise liners. To date, Schindler Marine has installed more than 2,500 elevators and escalators on board of more than 100 ships.