ZF Friedrichshafen said it was ramping up “its commitment in India” with the construction of a new plant in Pune.
The factory, under construction, will unite the supplier’s car powertrain and commercial vehicle technology business units as well as ZF Services in India under a single roof.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
It will also be home to the headquarters of the engineering and administration of ZF India.
Construction of the new building, on a plot size of 85,000 sq m (21 acres), started a few weeks ago in the Chakan industrial park, about 20km (12 miles) north of Pune.
After completion, scheduled for the turn of the year, around 350 employees will work at the new location. ZF is spending almost EUR20m on the new facility.
“ZF has been operating in India for 30 years,” said CEO Stefan Sommer.
“We still see considerable potential in the Indian automotive industry for the coming years. We want to be geared up for that and therefore are investing in new plants.”
ZF strategy is to provide its customers with products from local production wherever possible. Design-to-market considerations also play an important role in this. Its ngineers based in Pune will also be located in the new building in order to develop products specifically for Indian market requirements.
For Piyush Munot, managing director of ZF India, responsible for group operations in India, the new internal business park represents “an excellent expansion of our existing capacities in Pune”.
He said the new plant was a good starting point for the further expansion of the business in India “and it is a clear commitment of the ZF Group to the Indian market and its future prospects”.
