As part of its expansion in the India market, Germany-based technology company Freudenberg Group on Thursday (May 18) announced an investment of Rs 111 crore for the construction of a new production facility in a site near Chennai. The facility whose construction is scheduled to begin in the latter half of this year will produce “innovative sealing solutions” for the automotive industry, among other products, the company said.
Freudenberg has been consistently investing in India over the past few years. In 2016, it invested Rs 62 crore in India across the board – at all Freudenberg business groups, in manufacturing and research facilities and equipment. Over the past 5 years, Freudenberg’s total investment in India amounts to Rs 363 crore.
On the basis of its current assessment of the market, the Freudenberg Group expects global organic sales growth in the range of 1-3 per cent and profit from operations slightly above the previous year’s figure. From the India market, it forecasts a profitable double-digit growth for 2017.
Globally, Freudenberg continued its profitable growth in 2016 with sales of Rs 63,835 crore, up 13 per cent year-on-year, based on the pro-rata consolidation of joint ventures. Freudenberg also continued its positive business development in India. “With our plan to invest in a new production facility in the city of Chennai we underline our long-term commitment to the local market and support the ‘Make in India’ initiative,” Mohsen Sohi, Freudenberg Group CEO said.
In India, Freudenberg’s 7 business groups generated sales of Rs 1,483 crore in 2016, up 20 per cent compared to Rs 1,236 crore in 2015. The headcount rose by 17 per cent to 2,475 employees at around 50 locations in India – with 6 R&D centres and 14 production sites. The upcoming facility in Chennai will be the company’s 15th such site in India. “This increase in sales and employees can be attributed to a large extent to the acquisition of Vibracoustic,” the company said in a release.
Globally, Freudenberg’s operations can be divided into 4 business areas – seals and vibration control technology; nonwovens and filtration; household products; and specialties and others – each of which focus on long-term, sustainable, and profitable growth.
BW Reporters
Ayushman is an award-winning business and tech journalist based in Bangalore, with diverse experience in journalism across newspaper, magazine and news wire. He is the recipient of the 15th annual Polestar Award in Jury's category for excellence in journalism in 2013. He is also an NSE-certified capital market professional (NCCMP) and driven by his interest, he has also attended hands-on workshops on cloud computing to stay on top of technology journalism
