International automotive supplier, Brose Automotive Systems, has officially opened its first manufacturing plant in India, located in Hinjewadi, Pune. The plant will cater to the Indian automotive market and export to Europe and Asia. The 2300-squaremeter facility is to produce window regulators in the first year and has capacity for two million units. By September this year, the plant will also be producing manual seat height adjusters and in the medium term the plan is to manufacture and supply the entire product portfolio locally.
The first project to be executed by the plant is an export assignment for a European customer while the second project will be an assignment for a locally based international OEM for the Indian market. Series production will start in April 2011.
"Setting up a development center in India in 2006 was the first step in the realization of our long-term objective to establish Brose in India. With the Pune plant we now have a local production footprint covering the entire value chain in Pune – from development, component procurement to final assembly and logistics," said Ashwani Aggarwal, President Brose India.
"The goal is to serve both export business and the Indian automotive market from the new factory," Aggarwal continues, "As a world market leader, Brose offers national and international manufacturers in India not only competitive, cost-optimized products, but also high-tech products of international quality standard."
Brose commenced its first engineering services in India in 2006 and set up a development and sales office in Pune to support Indian customers and suppliers. At present, there are approximately 85 employees engaged in the development of electronics, electric motors, window regulators, seat adjusters and closure systems for the Indian market and other Brose Group locations. Regional procurement and IT services are also carried out in Pune for the corporate group.The number of employees of Brose India will almost double during 2011.
In 2012, the automotive supplier will extend its activities in India even further and has already been actively searching for suitable land in the Pune region.
"Our plans include building a new facility encompassing product development, product testing, production and administration in one complex. The increased space for manufacturing additional Brose products and a base to implement diverse manufacturing processes will further enable us to meet our customers' requirements. The new facility will feature Brose’s international architectural corporate design, with open concept working spaces and social areas for our employees," said Surinder Chauhan, Plant Manager of the new facility.
It may be recalled that Brose commenced its first engineering services in India in 2006 and set up a development and sales office in Pune to support Indian customers and suppliers. At present, there are approximately 85 employees engaged in the development of electronics, electric motors, window regulators, seat adjusters and closure systems for the Indian market and other Brose Group locations. Regional procurement and IT services are also carried out in Pune for the corporate group. The number of employees of Brose India will almost double during 2011.
With the Asian automotive market on a steep growth curve, the Brose Group has steadily built up its activities in this emerging region over the past 15 years. Today, the company is present in Asia with nine locations in China, Japan, Korea, Thailand and India. The corporate group currently employs a workforce of more than 2,600 employees in Asia.