‘Welcome to the European centre for automotive solutions', was the way in which BOM Foreign Investments summarised the opportunities available in Brabant at its seminar in Pune. Some 120 interested parties attended the seminar, organised by the BOM in conjunction with the Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency. While US and European automakers may be experiencing troubled times, the selfsame industry is flourishing in India, thanks in no small part to the relatively low production costs. Indian automakers have had much success in the compact passenger cars market in particular. This fact provides them with the opportunity to fulfil a similar role when it comes to sustainability and high quality technology - a step that the Indian auto industry has yet to take.

Brabant on an international par
‘And that is all possible in Brabant. To be more specific, in the south-east of Brabant,' BOM impressed upon the visiting delegates. The south-east of the province is home to over half of all Dutch automotive activity. While the Netherlands may not be the European centre for auto assembly, DAF Trucks, VDL, Van Doorne's Transmissie and NedCar are all well-known not just as production companies but also as knowledge-intensive enterprises. Automotive expertise is characteristic of the sector in the south-east of Brabant, with companies such as Philips, NXP, DSM and TomTom manufacturing high-tech systems and parts on an international par in the automotive sector. Both they and many other businesses determine the innovative face of the automotive industry in the region. This includes R&D companies and knowledge institutes.

High Tech Automotive Campus
In the course of the seminar the focus was emphatically placed on the production facilities, knowledge and opportunities for innovation in the south-east of Brabant, all of which have led to the creation of a true High Tech Automotive Campus in the town of Helmond. This institute is to be the inspiring environment in which automotive production, knowledge and innovations can come together. It is to be the home base for manufacturers, knowledge institutes, research centres and laboratories, providing the opportunity for intensive collaboration. Automotive companies searching for technological innovation and wanting to access new markets will soon have everything they require within hand's reach at the High Tech Automotive Campus in Helmond.

Eye-opener
It was evident from responses during the seminar that the Indian auto industry not only considers Brabant to be a great centre of operations with regard to the European market, but also the perfect environment for employing open innovations to develop and apply new technologies. "We are achieving incredible growth through the production of our mid-size vehicles," said Anil Kumar, an executive at the Indian company, Tata Motors. "We are now arriving at a phase where there is a need for further technological developments and innovations. This relates to the product quality in general, but also to the use of alternative energy sources, environmentally friendly applications and safety," he said with regard to his interest in Brabant. For Kumar and the other attendees, the concentration of different companies and facilities in the south-east of Brabant was truly an eye-opener. "That must certainly result in great benefits in terms of synergy," said Kumar, "especially when the links are as close as they are there." Another advantage for the Indian delegates turned out to be the educational facilities in Brabant and at the High Tech Automotive Campus. "In India we hardly have any facilities or lecturers to train employees in an automotive specialisation. That is a limitation in our sector when it comes to innovations in products and processes. And we most certainly need those innovations in order to keep our product quality and quality control at a high level," Kumar concluded.

There was much interest in the seminar on the subcontinent, with the authoritative newspaper the Times of India devoting much attention to the visit from the Netherlands and Brabant.

The relationship between Brabant and the Indian corporate world is becoming increasingly firm. Earlier this year in April the Indian IT company Tata Consultancy opened a major branch in Eindhoven, just a few months after BOM co-hosted a successful IT seminar in Bangalore. The recent automotive seminar also far exceeded expectations, and will be followed up with further contact in the form of trade missions and company visits.