ABB looks to make India export hub for power, automation tech.

Power equipment and automation major ABB , which has completed over a century in the country, is looking at making India an export hub for power and automation technology solutions.

As part of its increased India focus, the Swiss major has also launched its venture capital arm, ABB Technology Venture, to scout for opportunities in software engineering, software applications and artificial intelligence.

"We are keen to make India our export hub for power and automation technology solutions in the future," ABB global chief executive Ulrich Spiesshofer told a visiting group of Indian media at the company's headquarters in Zurich.

Underlining that India has been a key clog in the wheel of his company for decades, with exports to South and West Asia, he said, "ABB India exports to around 100 countries and it's deep local footprint and rich global and local expertise combine for offerings to customers in India and around the world.

"India has always been a very strong pillar of our success in power grids. We have executed large projects. We have a very competitive product offerings that we produce in our Nasik and Vadodara plants. We have fully localised our offerings," Spiesshofer said, adding "we are one of the strongest local players in the power grids space with a large team. Therefore India is becoming more and more an important export hub for us in this area." ABB has multiple global feeder factories in India, which meets both domestic and global demand. ABB India's exports have been cloaking 21 per cent CAGR over the last four years, contributing to 14-15 per cent of its India orders as well as 16-17 per cent of revenue in the second quarter of this year, he said.

Currently, India is one of the top 10 markets for the group with an annual turnover of USD 1.3 billion in 2015. On an average its annual investments in India have been USD 100 million to meet capex needs to upgrade facilities or put up new facilities.

Source : moneycontrol.com