In response to the rising cost of petroleum products which has greatly impacted EHC Global and all of its suppliers, EHC has been forced to boost worldwide handrail prices in order to maintain production quality and service levels. The increase comes as a direct result of the continuing upsurge in oil prices. In addition to this, the declining valuation of the US dollar compared to major global currencies including the Euro and Canadian Dollar, has severely impacted the company’s bottom line. EHC has undertaken a massive restructuring of its global operations over the past 3 months so that increases to customers, while necessary, would be minimal.
“As a global company we have been feeling the effects of these events for quite some time and have absorbed these additional costs for as long as possible. Unfortunately, this is no longer sustainable.” said Jeno Eppel, President. The company took a “wait and see” stance for many months, but based on world experts, the upward trend of the cost of oil will not be improving soon enough for the company to recoup its losses.
Escalator handrails are primarily petroleum based. Recently the product was featured on the Discovery Network’s “How It’s Made” program in which many of EHC customers remarked they did not realize the custom nature of the product. Escalator handrails are produced to the exact specification by the customer at the time of the order – there are more than 180 handrail profiles.
EHC is not alone; many manufacturers throughout North America, Europe, and now even China are passing along price increases to their customers. EHC continues to monitor the global economic situation and will take the necessary steps to ensure its continued ability to provide quality products and services to customers worldwide.