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| Exchange Disseminated Time | 3M India Ltd has informed BSE regarding a Press Release dated September 23, 2011 titled "3M opens its new R&D centre in Bangalore to help create products for India".
Press Release:
"3M India Ltd, today, launched its new, state-of-the-art R&D facility in Bangalore to cater to product and technology development for India, accelerating its localization initiatives in the country. 3M is making an initial investment of Rs 100 crores into the new R&D centre. With a strong focus for product development, 3M aims to target about 40% of its revenues from new 'in India, for India' products in the next 5 years.
The R&D centre, located at Electronics City, Bangalore, has a floor area of about 1,50,000 sq. ft. and houses more than 25 labs for product & technology development. The centre is a key milestone for 3M in India as it lays the foundation for 3M to accelerate the creation of products, through its technologies, for India's unique market needs. It draws from the expertise, learning and knowledge base of 3M's global R&D network and will leverage the company's 46 technology platforms to create winning solutions.
"3M takes great pride in its deep technological capabilities and I am delighted to launch the new R&D centre today in India that reinforces 3M India's commitment of "In India, for India". Innovation is at the heart of 3M's DNA and this facility will enable us to offer world class innovative products and solutions that meet Indian customer needs", said Mr. Ajay Nanavati, Managing Director, 3M India Ltd.
The R&D centre will initially focus on developing products for key industry segments such as Infrastructure, Automotive, Healthcare, Construction, Oil & Gas, Safety, and Retail, The centre will also focus on developing subject matter expertise in technologies like adhesives, non-wovens, acoustics, polymer processing, software & integrated systems and design, predictive engineering and modeling, protective coatings, and accelerated weathering. These technologies will spawn multiple market segments. For example, non-woven technology, one of the key technologies employed by 3M, has spawned diverse applications - from being used to develop and enhance filtration in safety masks to the development of the next generation of cleaning tools for Indian homes.
Mr. Ajay Nanavati added, "We do believe that we are at the forefront of nurturing innovation locally and also equipping ourselves to create technology platforms in the long run'.
At the occasion, Dr. Fred J. Palensky, 3M's Executive Vice President for R&D and Chief Technology Officer said, "Our ability to bring out new innovations is very much dependent on 3M's long-standing commitment to innovation. We assume that technologies and technological capabilities have no boundaries or barriers. Any product or manufacturing technology is available to any business in any industry in any geography around the world. Strong boundary less collaborations between the global 3M community help us use our diverse and strong technology portfolio to address local needs of the markets we are present in. The new R&D centre in India will be guided by this cross collaboration of technologies to develop customer centric solutions and I do believe that we have an excellent talent pool in India to nurture this process further."
3M has R&D centres in 37 countries in the world housing 10,000 technical people working across 85 labs. With the opening of the new R&D centre in Bangalore, 3M also intends to invest in the right talent locally in India and aims to more than double its R&D personnel to 300 in the next 5 years.
Dr. Jay Ihlenfeld, Sr. Vice President, Asia Pacific said, "We believe that this facility will be a critical hub to contribute new product platforms for India & ultimately our global markets. This investment is a clear statement of 3M's commitment to India, our focus on the APAC Area and our desire to nurture the best of talent this country. We look forward to India contributing to 3M's 100+ years innovation legacy of creating customer focused products and solutions".
In 2010, 3M has filed 14 patents out of India and has to its credit, 23 product innovations developed in India. About a third of the company's revenue came from new products developed in the last 5 years. This year, the momentum is going to continue as a result of the recent addition of the Delhi R&D Center apart from the newly opened Bangalore R&D center." |
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