The new facility will produce solutions that combine lighting, HMI systems and electronics for leading vehicle manufacturers in India, leveraging the emerging demand for smart advanced surfaces and functional lighting.
19 Jan 2024 | 6320 Views | By Autocar Professional Bureau
Global supplier of interior solutions Antolin inaugurated its new plant in Pune on January 18, 2023. The new facility is in line with the company’s top goal of its transformation plan to reinforce its presence in markets with a high potential to grow its business. In keeping with this roadmap, ...
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Global supplier of interior solutions Antolin inaugurated its new plant in Pune on January 18, 2023. The new facility is in line with the company’s top goal of its transformation plan to reinforce its presence in markets with a high potential to grow its business. In keeping with this roadmap, the company has opened its first factory in India specialising in lighting, HMI systems and electronics.
The opening ceremony was attended by Ernesto Antolin, Chairman of Antolin, representatives of the company's customers, authorities and other Antolin executives. According to the company, this “improves its industrial and technological capabilities in one of the largest automotive markets in the world, and it does so in the technology solutions business, an area of activity that will be the driving force behind the company's growth in coming years.”
The new centre is located in the town of Chakan, Pune, one of the most industrialised regions in the country and home to plants of the leading automotive manufacturers. Thanks to cutting-edge processes and technologies, Antolin will produce advanced solutions and components for its largest customers on the Indian market; specifically Tata Motors, Suzuki, Toyota, Mahindra & Mahindra and Skoda-Volkswagen. The factory will employ 200 highly skilled employees within two years and comprises 3,200 square metres of manufacturing and assembly area and adjoining offices.
Aims to harness emerging demand for smart advanced surfaces, functional lighting
In addition to the plant's opening, Antolin has reinforced its technology solutions business in India by setting up a specific team of the Lighting, HMI and Electronics Business Unit for this market. Aided by this specialised team, Antolin will be able to harness the emerging demand for smart advanced surfaces and functional lighting from vehicle manufacturers in India that seek to develop more advanced interiors in order to improve the passenger travel experience.
The projects of the new factory include all the ambient lighting for the new Mahindra electric vehicle platform, as well as an innovative Central Touch Control Panel project for Tata Motors’ new Safari and Harrier SUV. This project, which is already being produced at the plant, integrates sophisticated smart surface, multi-colour ambient lighting, capacitive switches and electronics. By combining several HMI functions, the design of this part maximises the interface for the end user and the vehicle customisation options.
“With the new plant in Chakan and the specialized lighting, HMI and electronic solutions team, we will be closer to our customers, adapting to their technical requirements while also seeking ways to collaborate in innovation and technological development. We are expanding in a country that offers enormous growth opportunities for Antolin in coming years in terms of both sales and of creating a large technology and engineering hub for the region,” said Ernesto Antolin, Chairman of Antolin.
Antolin has a transformation plan underway (2023-2026) with the aim of developing a solid and profitable long-term growth project. One of the pillars of the plan is to grow and expand in Asia, and specifically in the Indian market, a key country to evolve in the region. Antolin has a robust industrial and sales network in India with nine industrial centres and two technical-commercial offices, employing more than 2,000 highly qualified employees.
Grupo Antolin, which has been in India for the past 20 years, operates six plants: one each in Maharashtra (Pune), Tamil Nadu (Chennai), Karnataka (Bengaluru), Haryana (Gurgaon), Gujarat (Sanand) and Vijayawada (Andhra Pradesh). It supplies car interior components to all major customers such as Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra, Volkswagen India, Hyundai Motor India, Toyota Kirloskar Motor, Maruti Suzuki, Honda Cars India, Stellantis Group, Renault Nissan, and MG Motor India.
The company is a market leader in overheads systems and commands approximately 75% of the market share in India. Grupo Antolin also supports door panel, ambient lighting, hard and soft trims and various other interior components required by the car manufacturers.