Technology brings India to Oulu

Innovation is India´s new mantra. According to Dr. Ashwani Kumar, Minister of State for Industries, innovations are needed if India is to stay competitive and be able to meet the challenges of climate change and globalization. Dr. Kumar attended the India-Finland Business Summit FIND2008 held in Oulu last May. He also met Mr. Mauri Pekkarinen, Finland´s Minister of Trade and Industry when they attended the signing ceremony in Oulu for an Indo-Finnish Memorandum of understanding to cooperate and collaborate in the area of innovations. “We are serious indeed about our relations with Finland as Finland and many other European countries have expertise in technology and we have capabilities in commercialization. We can also offer direct access to the global market,´ Minister of State Dr. Kumar explained.

L&T Infotech comes to town

Many Finnish firms have already gone to India. Now Indians are coming to Finland. Several Indian companies have established themselves in Oulu during the last couple of years. One of the newly established Indian firms in Oulu is the global provider of IT services and solutions L&T Infotech, a Financial Times Global 500 company, which is looking for technological expertise and new innovations from Finland. The Oulu unit, which will open in fall 2008, will offer technology companies services that support the international commercialization of products and services. “We chose Oulu because the prospects for business in the area are great in telecom and engineering services from our perspective. There are also many potential customer companies in the region,´ comments Mr. Sarbajit Deb, Area Vice President – Nordic Region, L&T Infotech.

Easy access to Oulu

The company´s clients include Chevron, Freescale, PBS, Hitachi, Sanyo and Lafarge. The parent company of L&T Infotech is Larsen&Toubro Ltd., a technology, engineering, manufacturing, and construction conglomerate with global operations with revenues over 7 Billion USD. “Oulu offers solid expertise in the IT sector and particularly in mobile technology, which are of interest to us. We believe it will bring growth and competitiveness to our ompany,´ says Mr. Sarbajit Deb. Nordic culture and working habits have become familiar to the company over the seven-year period in which the company has operated in Denmark and Sweden. Invest in Oulu services have helped L&T Infotech establish itself in the city. He explains that the assistance and support were excellent.