Hitachi to set up development centre in Karnataka's Hubballi-Dharwad

Bengaluru: Japan's manufacturing giant Hitachi Construction Machinery on Tuesday announced it will establish a Global Development Centre in Hubballi–Dharwad, employing 200 engineers by 2027. It chose Dharwad over competing international locations including Southeast Asia.

Hitachi officials informed the state's visiting delegation led by Industries Minister M B Patil in Tokyo that its Dharwad unit has already become a key export hub for markets in West Asia, Africa, and Southeast Asia.

The delegation reaffirmed the state’s investor-friendly ecosystem and presented investment opportunities available under Karnataka’s new Industrial Policy, including special incentives for co-location of R&D and manufacturing.

A key highlight of the roadshow was the meeting with Asahi Kasei, where the company shared its ongoing India strategy. Asahi Kasei Advance, a subsidiary of the group, is setting up an airbag components manufacturing facility in Bengaluru. This investment is aligned with Karnataka’s rapidly expanding automotive ecosystem that already hosts leading global and Indian auto majors.

Patil urged Asahi Kasei to consider deeper participation across other sectors such as textiles, electronics, and chemicals where it has global expertise.

During its discussions with Renesas, one of the world’s foremost semiconductor firms, the delegation reiterated Karnataka’s position as the semiconductor capital of India, with a thriving ecosystem of R&D, design, and electronics manufacturing.

Renesas informed the delegation that its recently expanded R&D facility in Bengaluru has now become the company’s largest site in India, housing more than half of its workforce engaged in advanced R&D and embedded performance software. Building on this momentum, the delegation invited Renesas to also explore Mysuru as a potential location for its next R&D unit.

The delegation also met with Yamaha Robotics and invited the company to set up a local manufacturing unit in Bengaluru to better serve its growing local customer base in India, rather than depending solely on imports.