Altran plans to increase India headcount to 2,000 in 2 years

BANGALORE: Altran, a global leader in high- tech engineering consulting, today it is looking to increase headcount to 2,OOO in India operations over the next two years.

The Altran group with a workforce of 17,000 worldwide, is looking at India as a strategic growth partner as the country has emerged as a key market with strong potential for business practices in aerospace, automotive, railways and energy, Chief Technical Officer of the Altran Group Michel Bailly said here today.

The firm which has a 270-strong Centre of Excellence in Bangalore, is looking at both organic and inorganic routes to scale up operations to reach a workforce of 2,OOO high technology experts over the next two years, said CEO of Altran India Sanjay Kumar.

A few companies in niche sectors are being eyed for acquisitions, he added.

"At present, we are conducting discussions with several key players and we expect to announce these acquisitions as soon as we complete the due diligence process", Bailly said.

The major focus of the firms is on aerospace. It would be followed subsequently by automotive, railways and energy, Kumar said.

Altran's main global accounts are already engaged within India including Airbus, Alstom Transportation and Renault.

"We are working with some of the top European Aerospace companies in India. Our objective is to serve both Indian as well as International partners from this geography", Kumar said.

"In accordance with the Group' strategy, Altran is focusing on four main pillars -- develop Asia, give priority to six European countries through organic growth and acquisitions and expand globally on Embedded & Critical Systems and Product Lifestyle Management", Bailly said.

Altran is the official engineering partner of Solar Impulse, the prototype of world's first solar powered aircraft.

Solar Impulse which has already flown twice in 2010 and 2011, will making its third trans-continental fight in the next two months. The flight route will be Switzerland-Spain-Morocco-Switzerland, Bailly said.