From a small university town to a manufacturing hub, Pune has seen a major wave of change. Numerous automobile manufacturers and ancillary companies have today invested heavily to set up state-of-the-art production facilities in Pune. Amongst the first movers in this segment were Tata Motors (then known as Telco) and Cummins, a leading manufacturer of diesel and natural gas engines, and in recent years, Mercedes-Benz and construction and farm-equipment major JCB. The Automotive Research Institute of India is also located here and provides research, development, testing and certification services. Set on driving growth in the state, the Maharashtra government has played a key role in attracting investment and widening the scope of industry. A prime example is General Electric’s (GE) Multi-modal Manufacturing Facility, one of the company’s most advanced.

Anant Talaulicar, chairman and managing director of Cummins India, which is spread across 200 locations in India and had a combined turnover of more than Rs9,000 crore in 2014, says Pune is now a significant hub for automotive manufacturing as well as IT services. According to him, the climate for industrial development in Pune has been favourable since the ’60s, “primarily due to the developmental thrust from the state government, in the form of incentives, availability of land and improvement in core infrastructure”. His view is echoed by others. KSH Infra is a leading developer of industrial and logistics parks. Having started out as a family-owned business more than 40 years ago, the company has witnessed the rapid change in Pune over the years as more manufacturers ventured into the area to set up shop. “Pune’s strength in research and development, evinced by the presence of over 60 global multinational companies and R&D centres, and abundant availability of skilled manpower has consistently helped attract investments from domestic and foreign engineering companies,” says its director Rajiv Kirloskar.

Pune is also well known as a student town; there are nine universities here, some over a century old (including Asia’s third oldest engineering institute, the College of Engineering, Pune), so top students from all over the country flock here. And with well-paying jobs readily available here once they graduate, many stay. “The institutes have been intrinsic to providing a talent pipeline of students from the engineering and management streams to the manufacturing sector,” says Talaulicar. On the Mercer 2015 Quality of Living ranking, Pune scores higher than other Indian cities such as Mumbai and New Delhi. This definitely adds to making what is a Tier II city an attractive destination for mid- and senior-level professionals.

The many world-class manufacturing facilities that call Pune home cater to both domestic and export market requirements—and this has also contributed to putting it on the global map. “All our products are manufactured with the philosophy of ‘One Global Quality’, which means the equipment we manufacture in India can be used in any part of the world. Our Made in India products are today exported to over 60 countries,” says Vipin Sondhi, managing director and CEO, JCB India. For any business to succeed, location has always been key. Its proximity to India’s financial capital—Mumbai—is just one of the many benefits of setting up shop in Pune. The city also has three inland container depots, which facilitate the import-export of goods and raw material. Pune is conveniently located near India’s largest container shipping port, Nhava Sheva, operated by the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) and is well connected to major national highways for pan-India distribution. Banmali Agrawala, president and CEO, GE South Asia explains, “A part of GE’s localisation strategy in India, manufacturing here is primarily aimed at meeting the needs of the local market. The Pune facility helps strengthen our global supply chain and grow our network of local partners and suppliers.” Recently, the Pune Municipal Corporation cleared the Smart Cities’ Mission proposal, adding impetus to the development of the city into a truly world-class location.

MERCEDES-BENZ

Country of Origin: Germany

Founded: 1886

Number of employees in India: 1,500

Mercedes-Benz India has been manufacturing in India since 1994 out of a plant in Pimpri-Chinchwad in the Pune metropolitan region. In 2009, it set up a world-class production facility spread over 100 acres in Chakan, near Pune, with an investment of more than Rs1,000 crore. The new expanded facility now has the largest installed capacity of 20,000 units annually and is the only factory outside Germany to produce the Mercedes-Maybach S500.

“The Mercedes-Benz India production facility is one of the best completely knocked down (CKD) facilities in the entire Daimler world. It has been a significant pillar of our growth in India. The high level of refinement and the implementation of advanced technology and flexible processes ensure our production quality conforms to the most stringent global standards,” says Ronald Folger, managing director and CEO, Mercedes-Benz India. Today, this new facility rolls out eight models, with localisation level up to 60%. These locally manufactured models comprise 80% of the sales volume in India.

JCB

Country of Origin: United Kingdom

Founded: 1945

Number of employees in India: 5,000

JCB’s two world-class manufacturing facilities in Pune house the Heavyline Business for JCB in India. This includes manufacturing excavators, loaders, compaction equipment and fabrications, with an annual capacity of 4,500 units. This facility also has a global manufacturing unit for the compaction business and caters to the global demand for compaction equipment.

The company started in India as a joint venture in 1979; however, it is now a fully owned subsidiary of JC Bamford Excavators. JCB’s largest Design Centre outside of the UK is in India, situated at Pune, with over 400 engineers employed here. “Encouraged by the experience of doing business in Maharashtra, we set up our dedicated Design Centre in Pune, which is today at the forefront of some of the company’s most exciting and innovative product developments,” says Vipin Sondhi, managing director and CEO.

Today, exports comprise 20% of JCB India’s revenues. “Over the years, we invested and expanded our manufacturing footprint as we introduced our range of Made in India products. In 2005, when we commenced our manufacturing operations at the Pune plant, it was exporting only components to the JCB group. It has now expanded into an integrated manufacturing facility. These Made in India products are also exported to over 60 countries,” Sondhi adds.

CUMMINS

Country of Origin: United States

Founded: 1919

Number of employees in India: 9,700

The company chose Pune as its manufacturing destination rather early on, in the ’60s. Anant Talaulicar, chairman and managing director for India, explains, “Built on a 100-acre campus, the unit builds engines for the domestic and export markets, catering to the industrial and power generation segments.”

Today, the group comprises 20 manufacturing facilities across India. Amongst these, the Cummins Megasite, located in Phaltan (about 110km from Pune), is a 225-acre state-of-the-art campus that consolidates all current operations for the Cummins Group in India.

Apart from the eight projects currently located at the Megasite, the facility also has a health centre, a crèche and a training and development centre for employees. In 2009, Cummins won the Business Superbrand title for the second time in a row, and in 2012, was named the best employer for women in corporate India by the WILL Forum. The company also runs the Cummins College of Engineering for Women in Pune.

GE

Country of Origin: United States

Founded: 1892

Number of employees in India: 18,000

The company has had a long-standing presence in India spanning 110 years and has been operating in the Pune area since 2010. In February 2015, GE’s 68-acre Multi-modal Manufacturing Facility (MMF) was inaugurated at Chakan in Pune.

The MMF in Pune is one of GE’s most advanced facilities with automation, the industrial Internet and 3D printing. It is the first of its kind in the world, where GE can make products for its various businesses—oil and gas, aviation, power, renewables and transportation—under one roof. This facility aims to capitalise on the economies of scale that such a diverse production unit offers. According to Banmali Agrawala, president and CEO, GE South Asia, “It serves both domestic and export markets, working on the principle of a ‘Shared Centre of Excellence’ on process, capability and human capital aimed at driving economies of scale. It fuels opportunities in the area of skill enhancement, technology and innovation.”

The MMF currently has over 500 employees, and women form more than 25% of the highly skilled workforce.

TATA MOTORS

Country of Origin: India

Founded: 1945

Number of employees in India: About 25,000

When you think of Pune, you definitely think of Tata Motors, one of the first companies to set up in the vicinity. Anil Sinha, vice-president, manufacturing operations, passenger vehicle business unit says, “Set up in 1966, the Tata Motors’ facility is spread over the regions of Pimpri-Chinchwad. As one of the first manufacturing units in the area, it today has an annual installed capacity of over half a million vehicles, catering to the requirements of both the domestic and international markets, including that of peace-keeping forces across the globe.” According to him, what makes this facility even more special is its “capability to completely design, develop and manufacture a range of passenger and commercial vehicles and a large variety of individual components and aggregates, making it one of the most integrated automotive manufacturing centres in the country”. As part of its CSR initiative, the company has also formed a women’s cooperative society, Tata Motors Grihini Social Welfare Society, in Pune, focused on skill-building and economic empowerment.