Danfoss India, a major player in the climate and energy space, today inaugurated its new manufacturing, research and development campus in Oragadam, near Chennai.
It is the Indian subsidiary of Danfoss Global, a leader in energy management and cold chain technologies.
The plant, set up with an outlay of Rs 500 crore, has a 1MW solar power plant which will generate electricity sufficient to power 10 per cent of electricity requirements of the campus.
Building on the make in India mission, Danfoss, through its focus on local manufacturing and R&D in the new campus, plans on making India a manufacturing-cum-export hub for its regional subsidiaries. Danfoss will also be sourcing products from local suppliers, thereby creating ancillary jobs.
“India being a high-growth market for us, we kickstarted our Make in India initiative two years ago having assessed the tremendous potential for growth in the Indian manufacturing sector. We are pleased to commence our manufacturing at the right place and at the right time and believe this will enable Danfoss India operations to become the export hub for Asia-Pacific markets," Niels B Christiansen, President and Chief Executive Officer, Danfoss Global, said.
The 1MW solar park is expected to help generate 1.5 million units per annum.
Some of the key features of the campus include energy efficient structural glazing, re-use of construction waste generated, use of recycled material as much as possible, insulated roofs to minimize heat ingress, roofs with natural lighting and a courtyard (2x500 Sqm) inside the administrative building.
The new campus encompasses facilities for research and development, skill development, and product development along with customer application development centre and testing labs with a focus on innovation for customised solutions.
The Product Development Centres and Customer application development centre will support developing improved energy efficiency applications in Cold Chain and Infrastructure which can be customised to cater to different customers.
A dedicated Customer Application Development Centre includes a Psychrometric Laboratory that will help in testing of Danfoss products to gauge its application prowess and thus aid informed decisions.
Danfoss foresees growth opportunities in the cooling sector in India and has identified skill gaps in the industry. Skill Development Programmes of Danfoss such as the Danfoss Learning Center within the campus will help facilitate knowledge transfer about Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning and Commercial Compressor products, applications and technologies and services to customers and industry stakeholders.
With the Ammonia Training Unit which is an operational demonstration and training ammonia system the company will strive to improve awareness about Ammonia and train in its application as a feasible refrigerant.
“With the launch of the new campus, we are keen on revolutionising manufacturing in the country by empowering India to become a hub for energy efficient solutions. Our new campus will focus on refining research and development capabilities that will help us serve customers better. It will provide an impetus to customers as local manufacturing will make solutions more cost effective and ensure speedy delivery,” Ravichandran Purushothaman, President, Danfoss India, said.
Danfoss Group is a leading supplier of technologies that meet the growing need for food supply, modern infrastructure, efficient energy utilisation and climate friendly solutions.
Headquartered in Nordborg, Denmark, the company has 59 factories in 17 countries, sales offices in 58 countries with products being sold in over 100 countries and employs some 22,500 people worldwide.