Global leader in smart, healthy and sustainable solutions and systems for buildings, Johnson Controls plans to grow its footprint in Telangana with a manufacturing facility.
“This is the best place for us to explore for our next factory,” vice-president and GM-Global Security Products Dave Pulling said moments after Industries and IT Minister K.T.Rama Rao, at the inauguration of Johnson Controls’ OpenBlue Innovation Centre here, urged the firm to consider manufacturing in the State.
The Minister said the State government is “loyal to investors... [they] are given preferential treatment in terms of government procurement.” He also asked the company to explore the possibility of working with government on the proposed IMAGE Tower as well as the State Secretariat that is taking shape.
Later, in an interaction with The Hindu, Mr.Pulling said the proposal to have a factory is driven by the firm’s strategy “to have manufacturing in the geography where we are selling”. To queries on the timeline, he said a taskforce will get into discussions with the State government on the factory for security products, beginning with sensors. It would be first such of the company in the country, and cater to both domestic and export markets.
In a release, Johnson Controls said the new, 41,000 sq.ft. OpenBlue Innovation Centre, formally opened on Tuesday, in Hyderabad focuses on security products, including both intrusion and access control and video surveillance (ACVS) product lines. From five employees in 2010, the centre now has a headcount of 500 and there are plans to add more technology talent roles.
It joins the existing network of OpenBlue Innovation Centres in Pune, Gurgaon, Bengaluru and Delhi in the country. This OpenBlue Innovation Centre focuses on research and development for security products and is dedicated to transforming customer experiences using intelligent edge devices, the release said.
