Germany-based Knorr Bremse to invest Rs 360 crore for expansion in India

The company has already invested Rs 120 cr in Pune technology centre

German manufacturer Knorr Bremse will be investing around Euro 42 million (around Rs 360 crore) as it expands its operations in India.

The company has already made investments to the tune of Euro 14 million (around Rs 120 crore) to set up its plant and technology centre in Pune.

The Pune centre will cater to the domestic market as well as work for the global market.

The new plant is fully operational from April 2013 with an additional planned manufacturing product range like Compressors, Viscous Dampers, Coupling Heads and Machining set up.

The Pune centre will also house the company’s Technology Centre India (TCI) for Engineering and Design with teams working for Global Development Projects from Truck & Rail. In order to benefit from synergies, the new building also houses a software development center for the Rail division, said the company. The building will accommodate 200 engineers.

With the augmented strength of the new buildings, the new facilities and the new management teams, we are determined to reach newer heights in the innovation and the manufacturing arenas of commercial vehicle braking solutions. Priorities are safety systems, reliable designs, quality products, business growth and continuous sustainability” said Kithur Mohamed, Managing Director, KB-CVS India.

Along with Pune, the company is also planning to set-up a plant in Faridabad. Klaus Deller, Member of the Executive Board, Knorr Bremse, AG said, “We are also inaugurating a new facility in Faridabad very shortly where the size is approximately thrice the size of the current facility in Pune. We will be investing close to 28 million Euros (around Rs 240 crore) to set that up. This new facility is designed in such a manner so that we can keep adding more space to our facility and increase our capacity as and when required.” This centre will cater to rail braking systems.

Knorr Bremse has been in India since 2002 and worked in partnership with Tata Automotive Component. In 2010, the company went solo.