German group invests Rs 210 crore in city plant

The group’s India operations also performed strongly, with sales growing by 25% to touch Rs 2,768 cr. The company officials attribute this performance owing to the continuous investments made in existing and new projects, including a new production facility in Chennai.  

In India, Freudenberg’s seven business groups have a total workforce of some 2,688 employees at around 50 locations - running six R&D centres and 14 production sites with modern shop floors. 

“We are on track. Our new facility in Chennai is an important next step - not only to grow, but also to underline our long-term commitment to the local market and to support the ‘Make in India’ initiative,” said Georg Graf, Freudenberg Regional Representative India here on Thursday. The project has cleared all the legal hurdles and construction work at the site has started. The total investment is around 28 million Euro or Rs 210 crore, he added. 

“These important decisions contribute to the sustainable growth of the entire Group. Both, operationally and strategically, 2017 was a successful year for Freudenberg worldwide,” Graf said, noting that “We are well on our way to being one of the most innovative and efficient technology companies.” 

The company aims to balance its portfolio further towards generating onethird of sales each in Asia, North America and Europe. 

Graf said, “The Indian market plays a key role in our existing and future operations, and our diversified and innovative portfolio caters to the demands of India’s industry.” The group had made substantial investments to spur innovation and research and development activities through Rs 3,157 crore (previous year: Rs 2,764 crore.