The Hindu Business Line : Carrier Corpn to invest Rs 200 cr in R&D centre

R&D focus: Mr Geraud Darnis, President, Carrier Corporation; with Mr Zubin Irani, Managing Director, Carrier India, at a press conference in New Delhi on Thursday. - Kamal Narang

Our Bureau

New Delhi, Nov 29 Air-conditioning and refrigeration major, Carrier Corporation, said it would invest Rs 200 crore in India during the next three years to build a new global research and development (R&D) centre, develop industry-leading products and technology for local markets and significantly enhance the company’s manufacturing operations here.

“India is a very strategic market for us considering the buoyancy in the economy. The air conditioning penetration is low and the refrigeration business is expanding due to the retail boom in the country,” Mr Geraud Darnis, President Carrier, said on Thursday.

Noting that the investment will mark a new milestone, he said, “It will further strengthen our leadership position in India and enable us to bring the latest technology along with innovative and energy-efficient products and services to the local market.”

The third global R&D centre in Asia, to be located in Gurgaon, will be operational by 2009. It will bring Carrier’s industry-leading technology to India and facilitate the local development of new products.

The centre will include modern facility to educate and train Carrier customers on its products. The company will also expand its workforce and expects to add 100 engineers, he said.

The R&D will also bring Carrier’s industry-leading technology to India and facilitate the local development of new products.

Mr Darnis said that since 2004 the Indian air conditioning and refrigeration market has grown 25 per cent annually and is expected to become one of the largest markets in the world by 2012. The heat ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) market in India is pegged at $3.6 billion.

Carrier’s investment will bring world-class technologies and industry-leading air-conditioning and transport and stationary refrigeration products to the Indian market as well. It will also enable Carrier to expand its current manufacturing operations to produce new products in India and add capacity for future growth.

“We want to enhance our capacity from two lakh units to six lakh units by 2010,” Mr Zubin Irani, Managing Director, Carrier India, said.

Carrier serves customers through a network of more than 500 sales and service dealers across India and some 800 retail outlets.