DuPont India has opened an innovation centre in Pune to address the needs of the automotive segment with a special focus on six key areas. This is the company's fourth such centre in the Asia-Pacific region.
The Pune Centre will operate as an interface between auto Original Equipment Manufacturers in India and 9,500 scientists and experts at DuPont's 100 R&D Centres across the globe to provide solutions to help make automobiles faster, lighter, safer and more fuel efficient.
Auto hub
Pune's emergence as an important auto hub, where significant milestones have been created, influenced the choice of locating the new centre here, Mr Balvinder Singh Kalsi, President, South Asia, DuPont said. It will help develop solutions that are both new to India and new to DuPont, he said. “We can then take it to global markets.”
The Centre will also try to identify need and market trends, develop innovative solutions and speed up their delivery to the market place, he said. The automotive areas it will address are sustainability, lightweight, improved performance, alternate drive, safety and comfort.
Ms Diane H. Gulyas, President, DuPont Performance Polymers (a subsidiary business) said that the Innovation Centre will be a world ‘col-laboratory' where people can come together for brainstorming and connecting with DuPont's experts across the globe for solutions.
Globally, one-fifth of DuPont's business comes from the auto sector and this is expected to grow by multiples of three or four over the next few years, Mr Kalsi said.
DuPont India is a wholly owned subsidiary of US-based E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company.