PUNE, India — Dana Holding Corp. recently broke ground on a $20 million technical center in Pune, India.
The company says this new facility, Dana’s 15th technical center globally, will enhance the company’s engineering capabilities in India by providing design, testing and analytical support for each of Dana’s primary markets – automotive, commercial vehicle, and off-highway – all under one roof.
The facility is expected to be fully operational by the end of 2011.
"A ground breaking is typically about putting down roots," said Dana Chief Technology and Quality Officer George Constand. "But given our widespread presence in India, today’s ceremony is really about extending our local roots. This new technical center will enable Dana to serve the expanding needs of one of the world’s strongest growth markets."
Added Dana’s Managing Director of India, BD Singh, "With as many as 550 engineers on site when fully operational, the new technical center will more than double Dana’s engineering presence in India. Along with serving the local market, it will also provide an essential complement to our existing engineering resources at technical centers strategically located across four continents."
The new Dana India Technical Center will provide full, in-region engineering, testing and analysis capability for local markets. The new center will be part of Dana India Technical Centre Pvt. Ltd., a wholly-owned Dana subsidiary, and will encompass 125,000 square feet on a 4.75-acre lot located adjacent to Dana’s existing off-highway axle facility. The center will house engineering design activities and a state-of-the-art test laboratory equipped to support Dana’s Light Vehicle Driveline, Commercial Vehicle, Off-Highway, and Power Technologies product group requirements. The center will include performance, structural, environmental, oil flow and lubrication and metallurgical testing, as well as noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) testing capabilities.
The technical center groundbreaking is the second this year for Dana in India. In February, Spicer India Ltd., a Dana majority-owned venture with Anand Automotive Systems, broke ground for a 50,000-square-foot hypoid gear manufacturing facility in Chakan, India. The new gear facility is expected to begin production in the first half of 2011.
The addition of these two new facilities will bring the number of Dana operations in India to 12. Dana and its affiliates employ approximately 2,000 people in India. The company anticipates 2010 sales of more than $200 million in the country. Dana’s presence in India dates back to the 1960s.
