Mahindra recently inaugurated its new Technical Center in Troy, Michigan. This facility is the company’s first technical center in USA and will leverage Michigan’s large automotive talent pool to provide design and consulting services for Mahindra’s automotive customers in the region as well as support Mahindra’s automotive and tractor engineering requirements in India. This new facility will initially employ 25 engineers and has been designed to accommodate double that number in the future.
Present on this occasion was Mr. Rajan Wadhera, Chief Executive —Technology, Product Development and Sourcing, Automotive & Farm Equipment Sectors, Mahindra Group, India who inaugurated the facility along with Mr. Micheal Finney, President & CEO, Michigan Economic Development Corporation, Ms. Janice Daniels, Mayor, City of Troy and Mr. Prashant Kamat, CEO, Mahindra Engineering, India.
“This new Technology Center will serve as a base for Mahindra to address the engineering demand for our automotive & farm engineering requirements together with our Global Development Center in India. The Troy Center is the latest addition to our ‘neural network’ of innovation which also comprises of our other research facilities in India, US, China and Korea,” said Rajan Wadhera, Chief Executive —Technology, Product Development and Sourcing, Automotive & Farm Equipment Sectors, Mahindra Group.
“The inauguration of our new Troy Technical Centre is a proud moment for us as we are now present in one of the world’s leading automotive hubs. This is our first Technical Center in USA and it will enable us to leverage local R&D talent to deliver innovative solutions to our customers in the region as well as support Mahindra’s automotive and tractor engineering requirements in India. We also plan to scale up the Center in due course and will establish a dedicated recruiting department in the US office to meet this goal. We currently have a workforce of about 100 in North America with over 60% comprising US nationals hired locally. Hence, wherever we are located, our priority is to contribute to the local community and economy,” said Prashant Kamat, CEO Mahindra Engineering.
“Mahindra is a global provider for automotive engineering services, and we are thrilled with the company’s decision to locate its first North American technical center and new jobs in Troy,” said MEDC President and CEO Michael A. Finney. “This investment shows our highly competitive business climate and tremendous workforce capabilities mean real opportunities for leading-edge companies.”
“Our number one goal is to help new and existing businesses locate, grow and expand within the City of Troy,” Troy City Manager Mike Culpepper said. “We are delighted that Mahindra has chosen Troy as the location for its first Technical Center outside India. This is testimony to the fact that Troy is Michigan’s top location for Automotive Research and Development facilities due to the presence of local talent, our business friendly policies, and proximity to important markets in the northeastern United States.”
The Mahindra Group’s presence in North America
The Mahindra Group has had a long and enduring presence in North America with businesses ranging from IT to tractors and aerospace.
Houston, Texas based Mahindra USA (MUSA), a wholly owned subsidiary of Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., began selling tractors in the USA in 1994. MUSA has since grown rapidly due to high customer satisfaction levels and strong customer referrals. The company has three distribution points in the USA to help meet the needs of its customers and the growing demand for its products.
Mahindra’s professional-grade tractors range from 22 HP – 83HP and include the revolutionary new Max series tractors. All Mahindra Tractors are built with heavy-duty components that allow them to outperform other tractors in their class and are designed to provide consumers with the ability to push more, pull more and lift more, so they can do more, in less time.
Mahindra USA is no stranger to community involvement. It was the first Indian company to sponsor a car in the 2009 NASCAR Nationwide Series and MUSA sponsored NASCAR driver, DJ Kennington recently won his fifth consecutive race in the 2012 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series season, with a victory in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
Through the years, Mahindra has sponsored a college scholarship for recipients of the national FFA’s Women in Agriculture program. The Women in Ag Scholarship Program recognizes the important role that women play in the future of the agricultural industry.
Beginning this year, Mahindra USA has pledged to donate a portion of tractor sales for every Mahindra Tractor sold to Operation Finally Home, a worthy non-profit organization that provides custom-made, mortgage-free homes to wounded and disabled veterans and the widows of the fallen. Operation Finally Home has provided 32 homes to wounded returning veterans as well as widows of fallen heroes in Texas, Kansas, New York, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Illinois.
Mahindra USA has also raised money for St. Jude’s Children Hospital, actively participates in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure events, contributed money and resources for disaster recovery programs related to Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Ike and the devastating tornado outbreaks in the Gulf Coast and Mid-West such as Hurricane Isaac. MUSA actively supports its dealers’ sponsorships of local scholarship and community improvement projects through its co-op program and tractor donations. This belief in giving back to the community is in sync with Mahindra’s philosophy of Rise which is built on the three pillars of Accepting No Limits, Alternative Thinking and Driving Positive Change in the lives of its stakeholders and communities across the world, to enable them to Rise.
The Mahindra Group’s Information Technology Sector operates in the Americas with three companies – Mahindra Satyam, Tech Mahindra and Bristlecone. This market, apart from being the largest revenue contributor to the IT sector, services a veritable list of world leading brands and businesses across several business domains such as Enterprise Business Solutions, Testing, Infrastructure Management Services, network security, Value Added Services and Application Development Maintenance and Support (ADMS) Solutions.
While Mahindra Satyam generated 51% of its revenues from the Americas region, Tech Mahindra generated close to 33% during FY-12. The companies have 24 offices in the region. Bristlecone is widely recognized as a leading provider of supply chain and procurement services and solutions to a wide spectrum of discrete & process industries. Headquartered in California’s Silicon Valley, Bristlecone has five offices within the United States, besides those in Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland, India, Malaysia and Singapore.
GippsAERO, the aircraft manufacturing division of Mahindra Aerospace, identified North America as a region of focus in early 2011 and has been committed to strengthening its permanent presence beyond ever since. The company recently announced a partnership agreement with Soloy Aviation Solutions at Oshkosh which will see Soloy provide assembly and technical support for GippsAERO for all North American orders. Mahindra Aerospace has also recently announced the appointment of Flightline Group, Inc. as its authorized dealer for the southeastern United States and Muncie Aviation as its authorized dealer for the Mid-western United States.