ZF Friedrichshafen banks on Make in India, opens multi-product plant in Pune

German component major ZF Friedrichshafen AG is yet another leading supplier which is consolidating its footprint in the Indian market. Yesterday, the company set up a new Rs 150 crore plant, spread across 21 acres in Chakan, Pune.

“This new plant is an important investment in the centennial year of ZF Group,” said Wilhelm Rehm, Board Member of ZF Friedrichshafen AG and Global Head of material management. “The new facility in India reinforces ZF’s role as a global player and its commitment of expanding in a growth region like India.” Over the years, ZF has been successful in localising high technology products in India. “Now we will focus on the ‘Make-in-India’ theme and source quality products for its global portfolio,” he added.

Commenting on the development, Rudi von Meister, ZF’s president of Asia-Pacific, said: “This multi-product facility will house our Car Powertrain Technology and Commercial Vehicle Technology divisions as well as ZF Services under the same roof. The synergies from this consolidation will enable us to improve efficiencies and help us provide a compelling value proposition to our customers.”

Today, Asia-Pacific is the most important market for ZF after Europe and North America. After China, India is the second-largest market in the region and caters to various industry segments like automotive, off-highway, windpower and marine.

Speaking at the launch of the new facility, Piyush Muno, India managing director, responsible for ZF Group operations in India, said that “ZF established its presence in Pune in 2010 by introducing high-performance transmissions, followed by chassis components both for commercial vehicles and passenger cars. Today we enhance this product portfolio by launching passenger car clutch systems. These are specially designed to meet the demanding driving conditions in India. Our strategy will focus on not only bringing advanced technology to India, but in the future to develop products in India for India.”

ZF has been operating for more than three decades in the Indian market. Currently, ZF’s presence in India consists of eight plants spread across Pune, Pantnagar, Gurgaon, Chennai, Coimbatore and Madurai, and around 3 000 employees. The new facility will have approximately 200 employees. It will also be home to the headquarters of the aftermarket sales and services, engineering and administration of ZF India.