Swiss road-construction equipment maker Ammann Group Holdings AG is positioning its India operations as a global manufacturing hub, according to group chief executive Hans-Christian Schneider. The company is looking to increasingly use its Gujarat facility to supply products to markets beyond India, including potentially the highly competitive US market. This strategy marks a shift from viewing India primarily as a large and growing market to treating it as an important manufacturing base for Ammann's global operations.
India is already a significant manufacturing location for the company, which recorded global revenue of $800 million in 2025. The Indian arm clocked revenue of around ₹1,100 crore (about $115 million at current rates) in FY26, with the company selling around 1,200 units of construction equipment in FY26. Exports generate 20-25% of the Indian entity's annual revenue, with the company already having products manufactured in India that are exported to Europe, although European exports do not yet make up the bulk of local production.
Schneider outlined two key requirements for turning India into a global manufacturing hub: localizing products for the markets being served, and raising quality standards across products, processes and customer service. The company needs to navigate differences in certification and industrial standards before exports can be scaled up. While Indian and European standards are broadly comparable in functionality, differences in areas such as safety requirements still require additional certification work. The India-EFTA Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA), which took effect in late 2025, includes a $100-billion investment commitment over 15 years to create one million direct jobs in India.
The expansion of exports has helped Ammann offset a moderation in India's construction-equipment market over the past two to three years. According to data from the Indian Construction Equipment Manufacturers' Association (ICEMA), India's construction equipment sales saw moderate 2.7% growth to 126,961 units in FY25 from the previous fiscal, while exports grew by 10% to 13,230 units over the same period. The company is particularly exposed to road infrastructure because a substantial portion of its product portfolio is linked to asphalt production and road construction.
Ammann entered India through its acquisition of road construction equipment maker Apollo Construction Equipment Ltd, initially acquiring a 70% stake before assuming full control. The company currently has about 1,000 direct employees in India, with another 700-plus people employed through contract and other arrangements. Schneider said the existing facility in Gujarat still has scope to expand output through layout optimisation and removal of bottlenecks, while the company expects to reassess its manufacturing footprint around 2030.
