Speech at the Grand Opening of HUSCO’s new facility in Pune, India
Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Gus Ramirez’ speech at the Grand Opening of HUSCO’s new facility in Pune, India – October 31, 2007

The Journey 

The road to Pune started in 1996 when I first visited China and recognized it as one of the growth engines which would provide long term growth for the world economy and our industry.  A few years later we built a new modern manufacturing facility near Shanghai which helped us to successfully penetrate the rapidly growing China market. Next year, we plan to triple the size of this facility.  Recognizing the opportunity in India took a few additional years, but India has also become even more important to our long term plans. 

To understand the significance of this “special day,” one has to understand HUSCO’s business and products.  HUSCO provides products and systems which enhance the intelligence, performance and efficiency of mobile machines by providing hydraulic and electrohydraulic controls including electronics and software, and we believe we do this better than anyone else in the world.  Our products are used by equipment manufacturers JCB, CAT, DEERE, CNH, VOLVO, Hyundai, Doosan, etc., and automotive manufacturers and their Tier 1 suppliers including Mercedes, Ford, Chrysler, Volvo Stanadyne, Cummins INA and others.  Our product leadership is driven by the intellectual capacity of our engineering associates and HUSCO’s willingness to fund R&D and engineering development at the very high rate of 8% of sales.  HUSCO Pune will play a pivotal role in HUSCO’s maintaining and expanding its global leadership by providing the right technology cost effectively to very demanding customers. 

During my first trip to India two years ago, I concluded immediately that HUSCO needed to establish a major presence in India in addition to our presence in China.  However, our presence in India would be in manufacturing, engineering services, and technology development.  Our consultant and friend, Sanjeev Shah, was a bit aghast when I told him I was not a tourist during my first visit, but a buyer who wanted to identify and purchase a specific site for a large new facility.  The trip was a bit frustrating until I visited the Pune site. Talegaon got my attention, and I immediately decided to buy 20 acres for a factory and engineering center.  Things do not move as fast in India as in the US, but after seven months, we completed the purchase.

I was anxious to move into India even though others complained about the frustration of doing business in India compared to China.  However, I believe  India is on the cusp of becoming a significant global player in many industries.  The intellect of your people is superior, and the performance of our new personnel, after being indoctrinated about HUSCO’s culture, has been exceptional.  We have found our associates in India to have a strong work ethic and a hunger to perform well, a hunger often lacking in the US and Europe. 

We are here for the following reasons:

1. First, many of our customers are establishing operations India
2. Secondly, we are able to attract and retain exceptionally good associates
3. Thirdly, we can be globally competitive from a cost perspective
4. Fourth, there is some intellectual property protection
5. Fifth, the markets we serve are growing exceptionally fast
6. And lastly, the British left you a wonderful legacy of the global language of business, English.   I won’t talk about the other British legacy, bureaucracy, which India has made an art form.

For India to grow into a major industrial power, it will need major improvements in transportation, infrastructure, energy and agriculture – all of which are at the heart of what we do at HUSCO.  In the past 20 years HUSCO has organically developed six new businesses driven by the talent of our team members.  These talents are being substantially expanded by our efforts in India, and I expect that within five years India will birth at least one new business for HUSCO. 

I believe HUSCO and its people have been divinely guided, and the fact that we are here today is no accident, it is part of our destiny.  I believe in India, and want to be part of its success. 

Thank you for your attention and presence, thank you for your help, and may God bless all of you.