JOHN WAS CONVINCED that the fulcrum for any business revolved around the quality of service. With no factory, no assembly line and with just a few maintenance contracts and conviction, he started Lifts India. What began with maintaining ten lifts around Chennai, soon turned out to be a large opportunity. By the early 1970s, the company started making elevators, built bolt-by-bolt by people who understood the needs of a city that was beginning to rise.
FROM CRAFT TO CORPORATION
As the company matured, another name became synonymous with its next phase of growth, V M Thomas. An IIT alumnus and a meticulous engineer, Thomas joined during the company’s early expansion phase. He brought with him not just technical depth but a systematic and institutional approach to growth. Where John had built the foundation with hands-on grit, Thomas infused it with structure, discipline and long-term vision. He helped transform Johnson from a regional player into a national brand, streamlining operations, professionalising services and shaping a customer-centric ethos.
QUIET LEADERSHIP, BIG RESULTS
The company’s present leadership continues to reflect that same quiet strength. V Jagannathan, who joined Johnson in the early 1990s, is today its Managing Director and CEO. As a results-driven leader, Jagannathan has overseen the company’s transformation in scale and complexity, navigating competitive pressures, spearheading new product lines and expanding the footprint across India and overseas. His tenure has been marked by sharp execution, a relentless focus on after-sales service and a deep belief in staying debt-free and grounded. Under his leadership, Johnson Lifts has not only sustained its dominance in the elevator and escalator space but also strengthened it. Jagannathan’s quiet leadership echoes the legacy of those before him: stay local, stay lean and let performance speak.
From metros to airports and hospitals, parliament buildings and public spaces, chances are that, you have ridden a Johnson. The company now holds a 20 per cent share of the organised market, with 90 per cent of its supply chain localised. Its service teams reach faulty lifts in under 30 minutes, across time zones.
And now, with a new generation at the helm, including the founder’s grandson, Yogan K John, and a seasoned leadership team that balances legacy with innovation, Johnson is aiming higher.
VERTICAL ASCENT
India is now the second-largest elevator and escalator market in the world, trailing only China. With an annual demand of nearly 1 lakh elevators and a total market size of approximately Rs 13,000 crore, the vertical mobility sector has quietly become a pillar of the country’s urban infrastructure economy. Unlike mature global markets, where growth has stabilised, India remains a hotbed for construction. The lift market is predominantly residential, contributing 75–80 per cent of volumes. Particularly in land-starved metros, the demand is for faster and smarter elevators. High-speed lifts, capable of operating at 3.5 to 4 metres per second, are increasingly being installed in towers rising above 50 floors.
Within this booming sector, organised players dominate about 65–70 per cent of the business, but a significant chunk, possibly 20,000 to 30,000 elevators a year, is still installed by unorganised, low-cost assemblers, especially in smaller cities. This dual structure creates challenges in standardisation, safety compliance and service quality. Global giants like KONE, Otis and Schindler have strong footholds in the premium and commercial segments. However, the Indian market presents unique demand: hyper-local servicing, custom-built design and competitive pricing. Homegrown players like Johnson Lifts have gained this ground.
BEYOND THE CAB AND SHAFT
At first glance, an elevator may seem like a box that simply goes up and down. But behind that simple motion lies a high-stakes combination. Johnson Lifts’ full-stack approach from design and manufacturing to installation and after-sales service. Especially its service-first philosophy is a key differentiator in a sector where 80 per cent of the operational risk begins after the product is installed. “An elevator is not a finished product when it leaves the factory,” said Yohan K John, Director. “It comes alive only after it is commissioned and maintained,” he evered. With over 2 lakh installations across India, the company maintains more than 1 lakh units under service contracts, backed by 210 service centres.
Its portfolio cuts across residential buildings, commercial complexes, government institutions and high-density transport infrastructure. It has sort of become the go-to supplier for complex, high-volume public projects: About 50 per cent of India’s metro rail elevators and escalators carry the Johnson name, as do installations in nearly 400 railway stations. From the New Parliament House in Delhi to airports like Chennai and Trichy, and healthcare institutions like AIIMS Madurai, Johnson has embedded itself in the arteries of modern India.
MANUFACTURING BACKBONE
Johnson Lifts’ follows a decentralised manufacturing strategy. With four key facilities spread across Chennai, Nagpur and Oragadam, the company has built an agile network capable of catering to region-specific demand while ensuring timely delivery and quality control. At the heart of its operations lies the Sengadu plant near Chennai, the company’s mother plant. Spanning 34 acres with over 3 lakh square feet of built-up space, Sengadu handles the bulk of elevator manufacturing. With an annual production capacity of 18,000 elevators, it delivers over 1,200 units per month, feeding both domestic and select overseas markets. Complementing this is the Nagpur facility, which was recently expanded with a Rs 54-crore investment to better serve western and eastern India.
In Oragadam, Johnson established the country’s first escalator manufacturing plant in 2010, well ahead of the subsequent infrastructure boom. This foresight enabled the company to secure a significant share of metro and railway station escalator tenders, producing 80–90 units per month at scale. Meanwhile, the Poonamallee facility, the oldest of the four, has transitioned in to a specialised design and R&D centre.
Unlike many others, Johnson has steadily increased its domestic value-added content. As of 2025, it sources over 90 per cent of elevator components and 70 per cent of escalator parts locally, including step chains, guide rails and drive motors. This localisation not only reduces dependence on global supply chains but also allows for faster customisation and service responsiveness.
SAFER AND FASTER
The R&D centre at Poonamallee also houses a 155-feet test tower. This has been instrumental in designing and testing high-speed lifts suited for buildings above 50 floors. But Johnson isn’t stopping there. A new test tower, part of a Rs 250-crore expansion at its Sengadu campus, is in the works. This is an indication of the company’s growing focus on advanced vertical mobility technology. Though the exact height remains undisclosed, insiders suggest it will rival global benchmarks.
Technological integration is also extending into predictive maintenance. Using IoT-based systems, Johnson tracks component-level usage in real time, allowing service teams to replace them before failure. This data-driven maintenance model is especially valuable in commercial market.
A significant shift is also coming in the form of IS 17900, India’s new national elevator code, effective December 2025. The code brings Indian safety norms in line with global standards, covering everything from user protection to technician safety. Johnson has already aligned its systems with the new code.
LIFTS FOR THE LIVING ROOM
Johnson Lifts is preparing to commercially launch Easy Ride Plus, a sleek, battery-powered, shaftless elevator designed for ground plus one or two-floor residences. It addresses a growing shift in consumer behaviour. Elderly parents and people with mobility needs, or simply a desire for convenience, are fuelling a rising demand for home elevators. In most existing buildings, installing a traditional elevator is disruptive, costly and structurally invasive. This is where Easy Ride Plus changes the game. It doesn’t require a conventional lift shaft, machine room, or pit, making it perfect for retrofit applications. It comes with a self-supporting structure, reducing the need for heavy civil modifications. The battery-operated system is energy-efficient, consuming only 50 watts per trip, and runs with minimal noise. According to Jagannathan, “Eazy Ride Plus is our answer to India’s evolving lifestyle needs where accessibility, elegance and ease of installation are becoming essential for modern homes.”
Aesthetics haven’t been overlooked either. Easy Ride Plus comes along with multiple finish options and panoramic glass walls, allowing homeowners to blend utility with elegance. It is priced around Rs 22 lakh for a basic installation, positioning it as a premium yet accessible product for independent homes and villas. Johnson has already conducted test runs and is now readying for commercial rollout. Given the lack of credible domestic alternatives and the limitations of imported solutions in this category, Easy Ride Plus could quickly become the default choice for vertical mobility in India’s upper-middle-class homes.
STEPPING BEYOND BORDERS
Johnson is a global operator with 7 overseas offices and expanding footprint across Asia and Africa. With over 1000 overseas installations, it now operates in 11 international markets, including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Tanzania and Uganda. The company’s most prominent global investment is in the Middle East, where it established a wholly-owned subsidiary in Dubai three years ago. Since then, its presence has grown steadily in the Gulf region.
Interestingly enough, Johnson has taken a cautious and opportunity-led approach to international expansion. “We go where the Indian diaspora and Indian contractors already trust our name,” says Jagannathan. This has helped the company win projects in places where Indian engineering brands enjoy a goodwill, especially in government-funded or public-private projects across south Asia and east Africa.
It is also worth noting that Johnson is one of the very few Indian elevator companies with international operations that aren’t simply project-based, but include ongoing service, maintenance and AMC coverage. Its strategic foothold abroad, particularly in fast-developing regions with infrastructure booms, indicates that the company is steadily building an Indian multinational playbook – one step, one storey and one shaft at a time.
DEBT-FREE, AGILE AND CUSTOMER-LED
At a time when many industrial firms are chasing scale through leverage, Johnson Lifts stands out for what it has not done. It has not gone public, not taken debt and not diluted control. The company remains family-run and privately held, allowing it the agility to respond quickly to changing market needs without shareholder pressure. “Being private gives us the freedom to move fast,” explained Jagannathan. “We don’t need outside capital. We have always grown with internal accruals,” he put it matter-of-factly.
This conservatism, however, hasn’t slowed growth. In FY25, Johnson clocked approximately Rs 3000 crore in revenue, with about Rs 2400 crore from new equipment sales and Rs 600–700 crore from service contracts and 16 modernisation projects. The latter has become a significant revenue stream, especially in mature markets like Chennai, where a growing portion of the installed base is due for replacement. “Modernisation now contributes over Rs 300–400 crore annually,” he said. The company’s annual growth rate has hovered around 10 per cent, in line with the elevator market’s broader expansion in India. While elevator sales are growing at a steady pace, escalator sales are growing even faster, at 10–15 per cent annually, fuelled by the boom in metro and railway station projects.
Mainly, the company maintains a large AMC base, with more than 1 lakh elevators under service contracts. While that means around 1 lakh units are serviced by third-party vendors or have lapsed contracts, Johnson sees this as both a risk and an opportunity. “Yes, third-party servicing is always a threat,” said a company official. “But if they are component-compliant and maintain safety, it helps the ecosystem. Our advantage lies in long-term trust and deep service networks,” he added.
Internally, the company is streamlining operations using IoT data, predictive diagnostics and modular components that simplify both production and after-sales support. The decision to focus on in-house design and local component manufacturing—now at over 90 per cent indigenisation for elevators—has also helped Johnson protect margins during periods of raw material price fluctuation.
ENGINEERING, THE NEXT ASCENT
Despite its market leadership, Johnson Lifts faces industry headwinds. The most persistent is competition from the unorganised sector — low-cost assemblers, often without factories or service infrastructure, who strain pricing and compromise on safety, component traceability and compliance. Another challenge is scaling skilled talent.
Technological shifts also keep the pressure on. Touchless controls, AI-enabled maintenance and smart-building integration are reshaping global benchmarks. Johnson is responding with IoT diagnostics, a new test tower, and readiness for India’s upcoming IS 17900 safety code. These hurdles also open doors. Rising high-rise construction, data centre logistics lifts and home elevators promise strong demand. Backed by Rs 250 crore in future-ready investments, Johnson is poised to rise to the next level.
In an age where scale is often confused for success, Johnson Lifts shows that depth matters. By staying close to the ground figuratively and literally, it has gone on a mission mode to lift India higher.
– With Mohamed Ameen M
