Axalta has opened its new coating manufacturing plant at Savli, Vadodara in Gujarat, India. The 5200m² plant is part of the Savli manufacturing site that produces coatings for refinish, automotive parts, and commercial vehicle customers.

Axalta continues to make significant investment in India in line with its local growth strategy. The new plant will double its coating manufacturing capacity to meet the growing demand for coatings in light vehicles, commercial vehicles, and industrial segments.

Since 2016, it has opened a new and expanded technology centre in Savli dedicated to the Indian automotive segment. Its new India headquarters in Gurugram, within the National Capital Region, also hosts global IT and other back office functions. It has continued to further invest and upgrade its refinish training centres throughout India to better serve customers in the growing market.

According to World Bank’s data, India’s GDP in 2017 was at 7.2%, which makes it the fastest growth economy in the world. Last year, the automotive sector contributed to about 7% of India’s annual GDP, finishing the year to become the fourth largest in the world with more than 3M cars manufactured after China (24.2M), USA (17.1M) and Japan (4.4M units). Industry observers are optimistic that India will be the third largest globally by 2020, with an estimated 5M units sold annually, according to the Society of Indian Automotive Manufacturers (SIAM).

Taking advantage of the booming automotive market, Axalta Savli’s new plant will be able to expand production capacity of both high and low temperature cured coatings. The facility is also designed to scale up to produce waterborne coatings for customers’ conversion to more sustainable products. The new plant employs environmentally responsible processes and is designed for low emissions.

“Axalta has been widely recognised by its customers in India for excellent performance and service commitments in the refinish and industrial segments. We now look forward to bringing the same kind of commitment to meet the growing demand of the Indian automotive and industrial OEMs,” said Vinay Rajadhyaksha, Managing Director, Axalta Coating Systems India.