Air conditioning major, Johnson Controls-Hitachi Air Conditioning on Friday inaugurated its fourth Global Development Center (GDC) at Kadi to strengthen innovation in the fields of technology, energy efficiency and use of internet of things (IoT) in AC products.

Set up with an investment of about Rs 157 crore (or $ 22.5 million) the GDC is fourth for the company apart from existing two in Japan and one in China.

"This is a crucial step for Johnson Controls-Hitachi Air Conditioning to further strengthen our global positioning. This new GDC will play a critical role in developing new and exciting products, particularly for South-East Asia, the Middle East and Europe to enhance our ability to meet diverse market needs in these regions," said Franz Cerwinka, CEO - Johnson Control-Hitachi Air Conditioning, during a media interaction at the launch event.

The Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani inaugurated the Center, which is believed to act as a Center of Excellence (CoE) for innovation in advance controls and internet of things applications in the AC products of the company.

The facility is equipped with research and testing laboratories, including reliability labs, annual performance factor labs, electromagnetic compatibility labs, electronics labs and Semi-anechoic labs besides capabilities to create designs, simulation, controls, project management and engineering information systems among others.

Gurmeet Singh, Chairman & Managing Director, Johnson Controls-Hitachi Air Conditioning India Ltd - an Indian arm of the global player, informed that the company is on a strong growth trajectory with its diversified spread in AC products for household and commercial applications. "The last year was not so good for the industry. But we saw some revival in the first half of this fiscal. The outlook for the AC industry remains strong and we continue to grow better than the industry”, he said.

The company has manufacturing facility also at the Kadi facility, from where AC products are exported to SAARC countries and Africa. The exports are about 5 per cent of the overall turnover.

In domestic market, the company looks to strengthen its positioning in Southern Indian market, where it has thin presence, while it also aims to increase its business from commercial segment. Currently, the household-commercial revenue distribution is 80-20 with 80 per cent in favour of household AC sales.

The India operations contribute roughly about 10 per cent or $ 350 million to the global operations at $ 3.2 billion.

comment COMMENT NOW