US-based global workspace solutions company Haworth is building its second factory in Chennai, investing $8 million to $10 million for primarily taking up exports to Asia-Pacific region, North America and Europe, apart from catering to the domestic demand. The proposed manufacturing facility will be coming up at Sriperumbudur, on the outskirts of Chennai, which will help the company to double the capacity over a period of five years. At present, the company has an existing factory, also at Sriperumbudur, which sells products only in the domestic market as a B2B player.
Henninge Figge, president, Haworth International, told select media persons in Chennai on Wednesday that the proposed manufacturing campus, spread across seven acres, will have space for two factories. It will have about 50% of its production for exports, and the rest will cater to the domestic market.
The factory will produce some of the key Haworth products such as the Zody, Fern, Aloha, HAT, Intuity, Riverbend, IQ commercial, Pebble, Tibas, Shift and Poppy and Cabana (soon to be launched) range of products.
This allows the company to leverage the promising market prospects and meet the growing demand for its premium workspace solutions in the country. In addition to meeting the needs of the domestic market furniture, components produced at the factory will also be exported to North America and Europe. “The new factory is in line with our China plus strategy, so that we can switch from one location to another in the event of supply disruptions,” he said.
Praveen Rawal, vice-president, sales, Asia Pacific, Haworth, said the company selected Sriperumbudur for its expansion due to supply chain convenience and the advantage of being in the vicinity to ports. “The size of the performance workspace solutions market is around $300 million in India. Of this, we have one-third of the market share. There is a lot of demand in the Indian market with IT companies looking to set up their offices in tier II cities for their employees,” he said.
Haworth has its presence across 150 countries, employing over 8,000 professionals worldwide. Its top three top markets are the US, France and India. In India, Haworth has five showrooms and offices, employing over 300 employees. It has also established a global shared services centre (SSC) in Chennai. Haworth, a $ 2.5 billion company, has manufacturing plants only in China and India in the Asian region.
“The Chennai showroom and office will serve as a hub for creativity and collaboration, offering a variety of functions that redefine the concept of workspaces,” said Papun Sen Choudhury, MD, Haworth India.