CHENNAI, India — GKN Driveline has opened a new state-of-the-art production factory at Oragadam, near Chennai, in Tamil Nadu in India.
Located 30 miles from Chennai, GKN Driveline’s 32,800-square-foot Oragadam plant will employ 200 people with an annual production capacity of 660,000 sideshafts for customers based in South India.
GKN plc Chief Executive Sir Kevin Smith, speaking at the plant’s grand opening, said, “GKN is proud to be at the heart of India’s growing automotive industry. We have been doing business here for more than 100 years and have watched with pride as India has taken its place as one of the world’s fastest growing economies.”
Smith added that locating a major facility in the Chennai area will enable the company to more efficiently serve its customers in South India.
Ravindra Ojha, managing director for GKN Driveline’s operations in India, said that the company has invested more than $23 million in the new facility.
“Our business in India has grown at an annual rate of more than 15 percent over the past five years,” Ojha noted. “We expect to sustain that exceptional rate of growth over the next few years as well.”
GKN Driveline employs 650 people at three factories in India. Near Delhi in the north, the company has facilities in Faridabad and Dharuhera. Production at a third plant in Gummidipoondi near Chennai has been transferred to the new Oragadam facility.
For more information about GKN Driveline, go to: www.gkndriveline.com.
