Rockwell Automation To Make India Manufacturing Hub

Anaheim (California): After utilising India's strengths in IT and software for its global operations, Rockwell Automation is betting on turning India into an important manufacturing hub, a senior company official has said.

The US-headquartered automation major has started work on a factory in Chennai that will get commissioned in two phases, its president for Asia Pacific region Scott Wooldridge said here. "…both for software development and for manufacturing, we see India is going to be a very important hub for Rockwell," Wooldridge said at a time when the country is trying to increase the contributions of the manufacturing industry in the overall economy.

The company had taken initial steps on manufacturing in the country about two years ago and the Chennai plant will be an extension of the same, he added. It can be noted that many global companies have been looking at the 'China plus one' strategy, which aims to reduce the reliance on India's northern neighbour.

Wooldridge said it is looking to start production from the new manufacturing facility in Chennai, where it intends to employ 230 people, from May next year. He, however, was quick to add that the focus in research and development where India produces software and hardware for Rockewell's global operations, also continues in parallel.

The company's overall employee base in India has grown to over 4,000 from 1,000 four years ago, its Managing Director for India, Dilip Sawhney, said, adding that the country is home to the largest employee base outside the US. "… we see that India is a strategic global market for us and we build a credible footprint there. But we also equally see India as a very strategic component of a global talent strategy," Sawhney said.

At present, the company has campuses in Delhi, Pune, and Bengaluru, Woolbridge said, adding that there are team expansions happening across locations. He also said while the company is making its maiden foray on the manufacturing front with its own facility in Chennai, it has been working with Indian manufacturers like Mahindras, Tata group, Apollo tyres, and MRF for a long time.