The carrier and Otis company wants more out of India.
Of its various products—in categories like air-conditioning, aerospace, elevators & escalators, aircraft engines, helicopters, fire & security systems and fuel cells—the most visible brands of the $47.8-billion United Technologies Corporation (UTC) are Otis (elevators & escalators) and Carrier (air-cooling systems).
An absence in most of the other product categories would explain why UTC’s India operations contribute just 4 per cent, or Rs 1,630 crore, to its Asia revenues of a little under Rs 40,000 crore (for 2006)—despite being around in the country for over 50 years now.
Louis R. Chenevert, the sixand-a-half-feet tall President & Chief Operating Officer of UTC, is looking to turn things around. Chenevert points out that the India activities had a turnover of $300 million last year; this year they should hit $500 million. Yet, it is UTC’s newer ventures in India that promise to transform the scale of its domestic operations. As Chenevert points out: “Most exciting is the booming aviation market. We are in discussions for fabricating helicopters in India,” he reveals.
UTC is famous for making the Sikorsky helicopters. Pratt & Whitney aircraft engines are also from the UTC stable, and the President & COO reveals that aerospace will be the chief driver for UTC’s growth in India.
It already has a dedicated engineering and R&D centre in Bangalore. “The next innovation in jet engines from UTC is the geared turbofan (GTF) engine— which has a 12 per cent less fuel-burn and 20 per cent less noise—to be introduced from 2011; key components for it will be made in India,” says Chenevert.
