The Hindu Business Line : Agilent opens centre of excellence in Bangalore

Ever wondered what lies behind the dope tests on sportsmen and forensic diagnostics? US-based Agilent Technologies, which calls itself a `measurement' company, supplies the drug testing equipment to JN Stadium in New Delhi and forensic testing machines to various Government labs in the country.

At the unveiling of a new centre in the city, Mr Sanjeev Dhar, Country Manager, LSCA, Agilent Technologies - India, said these machines can be used for various applications in radically different domains.

The company has five centres in India, including a captive service centre in Gurgaon. It sells tools for pharmaceutical quality analysis, clinical and contract research, contract manufacturing, and commercial and chemical testing.

The establishment of Agilent's Life Sciences and Chemical Analysis centre in the city is part of its increasing focus on APAC.

"China, India and Japan will be our focus areas," said Mr Venkatesh Valluri, President and Chief Executive Officer, Agilent Technologies - India.

This centre of excellence joins Agilent's eight other centres across the globe. The centre will house Agilent's core platform products, including gas chromatographs and liquid chromatographs, both stand-alone and in combination with mass spectrometry systems. The centre will educate and train customers, offer tech support and local R&D (research and development) to India's life science and pharma companies.

"Currently, there is no training or demo facility to complement the hardware instrument growth here. It's our first centre of excellence in India," Mr Dhar said.

The company refused to reveal the investment in the Bangalore facility, but said it was part of the company's recently announced $30 million investment in India. The other initiative is establishing a campus near Manesar in Haryana.

To hire more

While Agilent Technologies is a $5.1-billion firm employing 18,500 across the world, it employs 1,300 here. Of these, 600 are research engineers.

The firm expects to hire 200 engineers of which 100 will be located in Bangalore. It has set a three-year goal of Rs 1,000-crore revenue for its India operations.

"The Indian life sciences market is growing at 25-30 per cent for us, with increased investment in pharmaceuticals and bigger projects by petrochemical majors," said Mr Steve Leung, Vice-President and General Manager, Sales, Marketing and Services, Asia-Pacific, Life Sciences and Chemical Analysis Group, Agilent Technologies.