On-hand for the grand opening and tour of the new 13,500-square-foot facility included local dignitaries, loyal customers, Laticrete
India, as well as officials from the company’s world headquarters in the U.S.
Laticrete recently hosted a grand opening celebration for its new global research and development center located adjacent to its existing Hyderabad, India manufacturing facility. On-hand for the grand opening and tour of the new 13,500-square-foot (1,250 m2) facility included local dignitaries, loyal customers, Laticrete India, as well as officials from the company’s world headquarters in the U.S.
“There are a number of challenges in this part of the world that we welcome,” stated Erno de Bruijn, president, Laticrete International Division. “With our new R&D Center, we can continue to fine-tune our offerings of state-of-the-art products for the installation of tile and stone, creating them to meet the specific local needs of customers. Additionally, in accord with our company’s heritage, our R&D Center based in India will help us in our continual quest to disseminate educational materials and other helpful information relative to the usage and installation of tile and stone materials.”
Guests were given guided tours of the modern, uniquely designed R&D Center. The new facility’s construction incorporated a great deal of tile and stone including 7,500 square feet (700 m2) of porcelain tile, 1,500 square feet (140 m2) of granite and another 1,500 square feet (75 m2) of natural Italian marble, as well as installation products manufactured by Laticrete.
Activities in the facility include new product development, product performance improvement, local raw material analysis, competitive product evaluation and technical support, plus training for salespeople, international partners and customers. The facility will be directed by Dr. P. Arjunan, vice president of Research & Development. Additionally, the company notes that the building will be showcased as a major reference project to potential clients such as project engineers, architects, designers, developers and others that could benefit from the performance of Laticrete tile and stone installation materials and methods.
