PUNE, India, Nov. 16, 2017
/PRNewswire/ -- Adient (NYSE: ADNT), the global leader in
automotive seating, today announced that it has broken ground on a
state-of-the art automotive seating prototyping and testing
facility in Pune that will be the
largest of its kind ever to be built in India. Construction of the new facility marks
a major expansion of Adient's existing technical center in
Pune, already a world-class
facility with the largest workforce among the automotive seating
supplier's global network of tech centers.
The new facility, which is scheduled to open in late 2018, will
provide physical testing to augment the capabilities of the
existing technical center in Pune,
a global Center of Competence at Adient for computer-aided
engineering (CAE), computer-aided design (CAD) automation and
finite element analysis (FEA) simulation expertise. First
established in 2000, Adient's India Tech Center today has a total
headcount of approximately 1,000 engineers, which consists of
roughly 850 engineers based locally in Pune and a further 150 engineers stationed at
Adient locations outside India on
global assignments.
Situated on a 20,000 m2 site near the existing tech
center, the new prototyping and testing facility will boast
full-scale prototyping, testing, and trim capabilities, enabling
Adient to conduct full product verification in India to global customer and regulatory
standards. The facility will house a fully hydraulic acceleration
sled test system, offering precision pulse matching, full payload
capability, and high-speed video capture from onboard cameras. A
6-axis shaker table at the facility, complete with semi-anechoic
chamber, will enable NHV (noise, vibration and harshness) analysis
and road durability testing.
"As well as underscoring our long-term commitment to
India, this investment of more
than $30 million is an important
milestone for Adient as we optimize our engineering footprint
around the world to deliver global standard product development and
innovation capabilities wherever our customers are," said Dr.
Detlef Juerss, Vice President,
Engineering & Chief Technical Officer at Adient. "With this new
facility, we will be able to fully execute product development
including design and product validation for global and local launch
programs right here in Pune, all
backed by cutting-edge infrastructure that will be truly unrivaled
in India's automotive
industry."
"Adient has for many years benefited from its strong focus on
design in India, a dynamic
environment that is rich in talent and creative inspiration. Our
India Tech Center team already plays a vital role in Adient's
global industrial design operations, providing designs to support
our customers today and imagining concepts that will shape the
experience of mobility in the future," said Richard Chung, Vice President, Innovation at
Adient. "I am very excited about the potential we can unleash in
Pune as we accelerate our design
and innovation processes here."
"Adient was one of the first global automotive tier 1 suppliers
to enter India. Over the past two
decades since then we have built world-class manufacturing and
product development capabilities across the country. We work
closely with our customers, who recognize that success in
India depends on developing
India-specific products," said
Murali Rajagopalan, Director and
Country Manager, Adient India. "India is phasing in new safety regulations for
which development activities need to begin now. As far as Adient is
concerned, the timing could not be better. When this new facility
opens we will be able to support our customers on an entirely new
level, so I see this as an exciting new chapter for Adient
India."
Adient (then a division of Johnson Controls) first established
its operations in India in 1995
through the formation of Tata Johnson Controls, a collaboration
with Tata Automotive Components. Adient, which recently celebrated
the first anniversary of its spin-off as an independent automotive
supplier, today has more than 2,500 employees at its wholly owned
subsidiary Adient India. Adient recently received a Best Supplier
Award for Quality from Tata Motors, adding to a long list of
supplier awards it received in 2017, which include the Toyota
Regional Contribution Award, the Honda Supplier Development Award,
the Nissan Supplier Quality Award (for the fourth consecutive
year), and the Nissan Global Innovation Award.
About Adient:
Adient is a global leader in automotive
seating. With 86,000 employees operating 237 manufacturing/assembly
plants in 33 countries worldwide, we produce and deliver automotive
seating for all vehicle classes and all major OEMs. From complete
seating systems to individual components, our expertise spans every
step of the automotive seat-making process. Our integrated,
in-house skills allow us to take our products from research and
design all the way to engineering and manufacturing – and into more
than 25 million vehicles every year. For more information on
Adient, please visit adient.com.
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SOURCE Adient