Ford Business Services plan to make Chennai centre of e'llence

"For the benefit of Ford,we are leveraging on the big talent pool we have in India. We want to make Chennai a "Centre of Excellence". This is the journey we are on," Ford Business Services President and Managing Director Joginder P Singh said.

The company also plans to ramp up its facility in Coimbatore as part of pan India expansion plans.

Ford Business Services offers various services to Ford Motor Corporation, including IT, accounting, engineering services besides many others.

The company has three units in Chennai and Coimbatore employing about 1,500 people.

Singh said Ford have been growing at 30 per cent every year in terms of manpower, an example of which was in Coimbatore where 350 people were added last year. "By the end of this year it will be increased to 500,", he said.

"Currently we have 5,000 employees in shared services division and another 5,000 in the manufacturing", he said in a interaction with PTI.

Ford Business Services work globally for Ford particulary in areas like Information Technology.

"It has become the second largest application development centre for Ford and in the accounting services division we have about 700-800  people", he said. 

"Besides accounting, we also undertake engineering services. It is one of the growth drivers for us. We use Computer Aided Design and computer simulation techniques out of India", Singh said.

Currently, Ford Business services has operations in Chennai and Coimbatore. Besides, the company also does parts design for Ford Motor, he said.

He said one of the reasons for selecting Coimbatore is that the city has done very well for us (in growth terms)".

He said the majority of work includes loan processing at Chennai facility on Old Mahabalipuram Road (OMR).

"Since all global operations of Ford is done in these facilities, we have taken advantage of varied time zones. If a dealers sits in North America where a customer needs financing (for a Ford product), we do it overnight here. These centres play a supportive role in doing many vital and critical functions", he said.

He said the "talent combined with low quality cost" was one of the main drivers for their growth in India.

"We have got better gravity now in Tamil Nadu with two to three units in Chennai and Coimbatore. So far it has been favourable to us and I expect it to continue. The services in these facilities are highly efficient. That is a great advantage for Ford Motor Company", he said.

Singh and top officials of Ford Motor India were here to launch their new sedan Ford Fiesta Classic after phasing  out their popular "Ikon"in India.

The petrol version of Fiesta Classic is priced at Rs 5.58 lakh (exshowroom Chennai) and the diesel variant at Rs 6.48 lakh (exshowroom Chennai).