Honeywell unit to expand

Honeywell India, a fully-owned subsidiary of the $23 billion Honeywell International, has decided to expand its Indian operations in the next 12 months.

Honeywell India is likely to add about 1,000 people in Bangalore during the next 12 months. During this time, the company's centre in Madurai will employ an additional 200 people to be 300-strong. The company expects to incur an expenditure of about $10-15 million as part of its expansion plans over the next one year.

"We are one of the key labs to be serving the needs of Honeywell International. We have realised that the only way to continue to add value is by tapping into the eco-system and the talent pool of Bangalore," Krishna Mikkilineni, managing director, Honeywell Technology Solutions Pvt Ltd, said.

Mikkilineni was speaking to mediapersons on the sidelines of the inauguration of Bangalore IT.Com 2004. The move to expand in India comes after the company recently came out of its 15-year-old joint venture with the Tata Group, Tata Honeywell.

Earlier this year, the Tata group exited this joint venture by selling its 40.62 per cent stake (35.91 lakh shares) to the US-based Honeywell for Rs 126 crore. The two sides held an equal stake with the balance 18.76 per cent held by financial institutions and public.

Honeywell Asia-Pacific, a subsidiary of Honeywell International, had acquired the stake held by Tata Industries, at Rs 350 a share. The transaction is expected to be completed this year.

On plans for the Madurai centre, Mikkilineni said, "The Madurai centre was started about two years ago and is currently 100-strong. We intend to add another 200 people in the next 12 months."

In India, Honeywell has an R&D software centre in Bangalore. Its other subsidiary, Honeywell India based in Gurgaon, operates in aerospace and transportation space.

Tata Honeywell registered a 27 per cent growth in turnover to Rs 342.4 crore for 2003-04 compared to the previous year. During the same period, the company's net profit increased 51 per cent to Rs 25.3 crore.

Though the Indian subsidiary does not contribute significantly to the revenues of Honeywell International, the company expects to grow by 25 per cent on a year-on-year basis.