Bosch mulls development centre in Coimbatore

Robert Bosch India Ltd, a subsidiary of the Germany-based Bosch Group, has decided to open a development centre in Coimbatore, according to a Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) press statement.

Commenting on the decision of the German company, Jayakumar Ramadass, chairman of CII, Coimbatore zone, said, "Robert Bosch is the latest addition to the growing list of IT companies starting business in this city. IT majors like Wipro, TCS, Cognizant and Healthscribe have either announced or already started their operations."

He elaborated on the initiatives taken by the confederation to project the Cotton City as an ideal destination for IT companies. Earlier, CII had released a report on the city in 2003 highlighting it as a fitting destination for IT / ITES industry.

Following this, the state government had earmarked a 30-acre land for establishing an IT park, he said.

"This apart, we have facilitated the coming up of an IT park in the private sector in the heart of the city," he said.

CII has been engaged with the German company for almost six to eight months facilitating its evaluation process and also assisted Walter Grote, managing director of Robert Bosch and his officials in meeting a number of agencies and companies.

The company, a global major in automotive, industrial and building technology and consumer goods, would be setting up its development centre as part of its de-risking strategy, he added.

At first, the company would be employing a few hundred people which could go up to 2,500 in a couple of years, the release added.