Allison Transmission has broken ground on a new India facility designed to meet growing global demand for Allison automatic transmissions.
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Once construction of the more than 203,000-square-foot manufacturing plant is completed, which is expected to occur in early 2010, it will also serve as the Allison Transmission India Pvt. Ltd. regional headquarters with executive, marketing, and sales offices. In addition, the facilities are designed for warehousing and customisation.
“We believe it is important to strengthen our local presence in India to support our growing in-country operations,” said Allison Transmission, Inc. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Lawrence E. Dewey. “I am extremely proud of the milestone this groundbreaking represents, and thankful to the Tamil Nadu government for its enthusiastic support.”
Allison says its investment in India comes at a time when global demand for the company’s fully automatic transmissions continues to increase.
“We conducted an extensive and lengthy search before we settled on an area in which to build our India facility,” said Ram Amarnath, Managing Director of Allison Transmission India Pvt. Ltd. “And we found the right mix of location and a talented, world class employment pool in Chennai.”
Key local management staff in the areas of operations, purchasing, human resources and sales personnel are already in place. Other employees will join the team later this year. And when the new facility is completed, more than 300 employees will be added to the Allison Transmission India Pvt. Ltd’s payroll.
“We have already realised tremendous growth opportunities for our products in the Indian market,” said Michael G. Headly, Vice President of International Marketing, Sales & Service of Allison Transmission, Inc. “We see an industry that is developing, expanding and improving products internationally. Indian OEM’s are important global players whose products are avidly sought after, and it is important for Allison to be aligned with these manufacturers as they expand their business operations.”
Allison says its recent growth in India has been propelled by fitting automatics into low-floor CNG and diesel buses in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Nagpur and other Indian cities.
There are now nearly 1,000 on-highway trucks and buses operating in India which are fitted with Allison Transmissions. Major OEM customers include Tata Motors, Ashok Leyland, JCBL and Lexia Motors.
Allison recently concluded a contract to supply Tata Motors with fully automatic transmissions for low-floor CNG-propelled buses to serve Delhi Transport Corporation.
