ZF Friedrichshafen AG of Germany commissioned a 150 crore multi-product plant in Chakan (Pune) on Thursday.

“This new plant is an important investment in the centennial year of ZF Group”, said Wilhelm Rehm, Board Member and Global Head of material management. “Now we will focus on the ‘Make-in-India’ theme and source quality products for its global portfolio,” he added.

Rudi von Meister, ZF’s President of Asia-Pacific, said: “This multiproduct facility will house our car powertrain and commercial vehicle technology divisions as well as ZF Services under the same roof.”

Asia-Pacific is the most important market for ZF after Europe and North America. India is the second-largest market in the region after China and caters to the automotive, off-highway, windpower and marine segments.

Piyush Munot, India Managing Director, said the car clutch systems are specially designed to meet the demanding driving conditions in the county. ZF has been operating for more than three decades in this market with plants spread across Pune, Pantnagar, Gurgaon, Chennai, Coimbatore and Madurai. The new facility will also be home to the headquarters of the aftermarket sales and services of ZF India.

Globally, ZF is a leading technology company in driveline and chassis technology with 122 production companies in 26 countries. As part of its endeavour to be innovative, the group annually invests about five percent of its sales (2014: around €890 million) in research and development.

ZF is one of the ten largest automotive suppliers worldwide whose product range includes driveline and chassis technology such as transmissions, driveline and chassis components, as well as complete axle systems and modules. In 2014, ZF announced its intention to acquire US automotive supplier TRW which will make it the second largest auto supplier in the world.

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