Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. completed construction of a new plant at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries India Precision Tools, Ltd., an Indian subsidiary dedicated to manufacturing and sales of gear cutting tools.

The $10 million new plant was built in response to demand from the Indian automotive industry, which has been growing 20% per year. According to the company’s press release, production is expected to double. 

The new plant, with 37,500 square feet of floor space, was built next to an existing plant. To double the production capacity, more than 80 machines were installed in the new plant, including the latest numerical control machines. The number of employees was increased from 400 to 590.

Automotive output in India exceeded two million units in 2006 and is expected to reach four million in 2010. MHI-OPT, an overseas production base of MHI’s machine tool division, is headquartered in southern India’s Tamil Nadu state, at Ranipet near Chennai. The company manufactures precision gear cutting tools including hob cutters, gear shaping cutters, gear shaving cutters and broach cutters.