Allison Transmission Inc. announced the opening of a new multipurpose operations facility on the outskirts of Chennai, India. Allison Transmission Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Lawrence E. Dewey says that the opening of the Chennai operations facility helps the company expand its global footprint as well as its presence in India, where demand for Allison’s fully automatic transmissions is growing steadily. City transit bus and off-highway construction vehicles equipped with a broad range of Allison products are presently in service throughout India and are growing in number. In addition, the company is seeing increasing interest from Indian OEMs for additional on- and off-highway vehicle applications for Allison transmissions.
The central location of India, along with its availability of developed airports and seaports, makes it an ideal site from which Allison Transmission can continue to grow globally, Dewey says. “In India, we see a transportation industry that continues to develop, embraces the latest technology and a country that is upgrading its transportation system in all facets. The future here is very bright.”
In addition to being capable of manufacturing vehicular drivetrain components, the state-of-the-art facility also will serve as the regional headquarters of Allison Transmission India Pvt. Ltd., housing its executive and regional sales offices. The facility also incorporates design features that will allow it to expand quickly as future marketing opportunities develop. About 300 people are expected to be employed by the facility once it is fully operational.
Ram Amarnath, managing director of Allison India Pvt. Ltd., says the company’s association with India dates back more than 50 years when Allison began serving transportation companies in the country’s mining and oil field industries. Allison’s presence in India also helped the company establish a network of distributors to support the large volume of its off-highway transmissions imported by global OEMs. “It is our intent to expand into the medium- and heavy-duty bus and truck segments,” Amarnath says.
David Parish, vice president of operations, says the facility is designed to be flexible in the products that it is capable of producing, allowing Allison Transmission the ability to respond quickly to changing market opportunities as they develop globally. The plant also was designed with themes of energy efficiency and to be environmentally clean.
