Germany to set up Technology Centre in Hyderabad

German car parts maker ZF Friedrichshafen AG is setting up its first India Technology Centre in Hyderabad, which will be dedicated to software and mechanical engineering. The centre will support ZF’s global development teams while enabling the company to accelerate local product development, a company statement said. It will be fully operational by January 1 next year 2017 and is expected to have a workforce of 2,500 engineers by 2020.

“This new facility is a significant investment for ZF in India. We are harnessing the skilled talent pool that India has to offer in order to develop superior technology solutions for our global as well as local customers,” Dr Stefan Sommer, CEO of ZF Friedrichshafen AG, was quoted as saying. Over the years, ZF has been successful in localising high technology products in India, the statement said.

“As demand for software engineering grows, we will exponentially increase our capacity to help meet our customers’ growth aspirations. With this technology centre, we are reinforcing our global R&D footprint as well as our commitment and investment in the rapidly emerging Indian



market,” he said.

As many as 13,800 engineers are working in R&D with ZF globally. The research and development network consists of more than 100 development locations, including 17 main development locations.

ZF has been in operation for more than three decades in the Indian market and ZF TRW for more than 50 years through its joint venture with TVS and Rane Groups. Currently, with nearly 12,000 employees, including JVs, ZF has 19 production facilities excluding warehouses and office buildings.

Mamatha Chamarthi, Senior Vice-President and Executive Lead for the new India Technology Centre, said: “ZF has an impressive history of being the leader and innovator in the auto component sector. We have 1,000 external engineers in the field of electronics, software and mechanical engineering with key Indian Engineering Services providers in Pune, Bengaluru and Hyderabad.”

“Our ZF India technology centre will build on this engineering foundation and focus not only on bringing advanced technology to India, but localising more strategic business activities, including research, design and development.