Diversified technology company that produces seals and nonwovens to household products and lubricants, Freudenberg, continues to expand its activities in Asia. The group will start with the construction of a new production facility in autumn 2017 in Chennai, India, producing sealing solutions among other products, according to Freudenberg Group CEO, Dr. Mohsen Sohi. “Freudenberg is the global market leader in the field of sealing technology. With this investment we are best serving our customers – precisely in India’s strong automotive hub of Chennai.”
In the past few years, Chennai has gained in importance to become the capital of Indian’s automotive industry. More than 40% of Indian automotive production is based local to Chennai. The city is often referred to as India’s Detroit.
Work on the new Freudenberg production facility some 50 km to the southwest of Chennai will start in autumn 2017. The total investment is some EUR15 million. The land acquired consists of more than 56,000 sq m with the capacity for further site development.
Dr. Sohi explained, “Our development in Asia is both positive and long-term oriented. We are moving closer to our strategic goal of generating one third of our sales in Europe, one third in America and one third in Asia.”
In India, Freudenberg’s sales grew in 2016 to some EUR200 million (previous year EUR174 million). This is an increase of some 15% compared to the previous year. The increase can be attributed to a large extent to the acquisition of Vibracoustic.
Freudenberg’s seven Business Groups in India employ some 2,500 people at around 50 locations – with six R&D centres and 14 production sites. In the last five years,
Freudenberg has invested a total of some EUR50 million in manufacturing and research facilities and equipment in the country.???