Philips on $50 mn expansion

The Euro 29 billion electronics major Philips on Thursday announced that it will invest $50 million over the next five years to ramp up facilities at its Bangalore-based Philips Innovation Campus (PIC). The expansion will also see the campus headcount double to 2,600 by 2007.

The expansion will mean that PIC's contribution to Philips' global operations will increase from the present 20 per cent of software content across all Philips' business divisions, like consumer electronics, semiconductors, lifestyle and medical systems.

The company said that it will begin migrating operations to its new 55,000 sq.m. campus from the last quarter of 2005.

Bob Hoekstra, chief executive officer, Philips Innovation Campus. said, "India has become a major growth opportunity for us from both a consumer and technology point of view and this investment reflects our expanding presence. The PIC at Bangalore contributes over 20 per cent of the software content for our products worldwide and has established itself as a key centre for the company."

He added that the PIC, which houses the R& D activities under one roof has emerged as a critical partner in the development of futuristic technologies for Philips worldwide.

The Bangalore campus has eight divisions, each functioning as a technology or software competence centre: consumer electronics, semiconductors, medical systems, research, Philips digital systems labs, intellectual property and standards, as well as business process services & software.

The innovation campus in Bangalore was set up in 1996 to meet requirements for high-quality software development capability within the Philips organisation.

In addition to this expansion, Philips India has outlined plans to merge its three arms- Philips Electronics, Philips Healthcare and Philips Software into one entity which will have a topline of Rs 2200 crore.