DuPont has announced the official opening of the India Innovation Centre in Pune. DuPont India Innovation Centre is a forward-looking initiative by the global science-based company to expand its strategic footprint to fuel local collaboration in support of India's fast growing automotive industry.

DuPont India Innovation Centre's primary focus is on the automotive segment; and it acts as a collaborative platform for automotive OEMs and component & system manufacturers to come together to support the Indian automotive industry. The centre's goal is to partner for science-powered solutions that fuel innovation and application development together with customers and partners - wherever they are in the world.

"The Collaboration Space in the Centre provides an environment for our customers and partners to connect real time with our team of 9500 DuPont scientists, chemists and engineers located in 100 R&D and technical centers around the world. Leveraging the power of DuPont global network, we can work with our customers and partners to meet the needs of the fast expanding Indian automotive industry," said Balvinder Singh Kalsi, President - South Asia, DuPont.

India is one of the world's fastest growing automotive markets in the world. Hence, it can be both a challenge and an opportunity to develop products and solutions in areas of "sustainability", "lightweight", "improved performance", "alternative drive", "safety" and "comfort & design".

"Technological collaboration is the key to addressing growth in the automotive segment and this is the approach all auto manufacturers take the world over. The opening of our Innovation Centre is an important step towards DuPont staying focused on the demands of our customers and partners in India for new technology innovations that are required to support their growth plans," commented Amandeep Singh Cheema, Business Leader, DuPont Performance Polymers - India, and Project Leader for DuPont India Innovation Centre.

The DuPont India Innovation Centre is one among four new global DuPont Innovation Centers in Asia Pacific. The other three centres in Asia Pacific are located in South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand. While the Innovation Centre in Korea services the electronics and automotive industries, the one in Taiwan focuses on the electronics and communications markets, and Thailand's Centre will be working on programs around renewable energy initiatives and products. Other centres in Latin America, Europe and North America are in the planning pipeline.

"The DuPont approach is to be a global collaborative partner offering innovative solutions to meet growing needs of the Industry," said Diane H. Gulyas, President for DuPont Performance Polymers. "We are committed to leading collaborative and inclusive innovations to respond to challenges facing the world today. Collaboration is the driving force behind establishing the country focused Innovation Centres."