CHENNAI, India and LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Tenneco today announced the opening of a new manufacturing plant in Chennai, India. The plant will primarily produce emission control products and systems for original equipment manufacturers, initially supplying Nissan’s global small car platform.
The company invested $5 million in the 28,000-square-foot facility, which is Tenneco’s seventh manufacturing plant in India. Tenneco began producing exhaust systems for the Nissan Micra in May of this year. The company also is supplying modular assembled struts and shocks to Ford from this new facility. The plant currently employs about 60 people and is expected to expand employment and operations as the company wins new business with OEMs operating in the Chennai area.
“Our new plant in Chennai is part of our strategy to expand Tenneco’s position in fast-growing automotive markets such as India,” said Gregg Sherrill, chairman and CEO, Tenneco. “Our facilities in India support domestic and international vehicle manufacturers and are integrated with Tenneco’s worldwide manufacturing and engineering resources, which is increasingly important as our customers launch global platforms that include India-produced vehicles.”
Tenneco first established manufacturing in India in 1995 and has grown its operations to now include 1,500 employees at five production plants and two Just-in-Time (JIT) facilities. In addition to Chennai, the company produces emission control components in Halol and Pune, India. Tenneco’s ride control production is in Bawal, Pune, Hosur, and Puducherry, India. These facilities serve a growing customer base including Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra, Maruti Suzuki, Renault-Nissan, Ford, Volkswagen, TVS Motor Co., Toyota Kirloskar Motor and General Motors.
“We’ve invested more than $20 million in India over the past three years and look forward to supporting our broad base of customers as they expand in this dynamic market,” said Sherrill today at a press briefing marking the opening of Tenneco’s Chennai operations. “We are now strongly positioned in India’s three major vehicle producing hubs, which will serve as the foundation for achieving Tenneco’s goal to become the No. 1 emission control and ride control supplier to light vehicle manufacturers in India.”
