BATAVIA / COIMBATORE / QUERÉTARO | 30 July 2026: Milacron has expanded its global operations through two strategic investments – launch of its upgraded Global Capability Centre (GCC) in Coimbatore, India, and the commencement of construction of a new manufacturing facility in Querétaro, Mexico. The twin initiatives strengthen the company’s engineering, digital and manufacturing capabilities while enhancing customer support across global markets. For the US-based Milacron, a core brand within the Hillenbrand enterprise, the twin initiatives have been aligned to strengthen the company’s engineering, digital and manufacturing capabilities while supporting customers across global markets.

The Coimbatore centre represents the evolution of Milacron’s long-established Global Business Services (GBS) operations into a broader engineering and innovation hub supporting product development, digital technologies and enterprise operations. Transitioning from its decade-old GBS roots into a sophisticated, engineering and technology hub, this synchronized deployment underlines how heavy-industry Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) are actively combining Latin American physical nearshoring with superior engineering capabilities of India, to build hyper-resilient, localized innovation networks.

KEY HIGHLIGHTS

Milacron, headquartered in Batavia, Ohio, is a global manufacturer of injection moulding, extrusion and plastics processing equipment serving industries including automotive, packaging, medical devices and consumer products. The company operates an installed base of more than 50,000 machines worldwide and is increasingly integrating digital manufacturing capabilities through its M-Powered Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) platform.

Entering a new era of aggressive capital deployment following a 2025 majority acquisition by Bain Capital, the company is expanding its digital manufacturing capabilities through its M-Powered Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) platform. Its parent company, Hillenbrand, has transformed into a global industrial technology enterprise following the divestment of its historic Batesville Casket Company business and subsequent acquisition by Lone Star Funds in 2026. Today, operating as a highly agile, privately held under CEO Kimberly K. Ryan, Hillenbrand orchestrates a vast portfolio of advanced industrial technology brands globally, freed entirely from the short-term pressures of public equity markets.

COIMBATORE GCC ENTERS ITS NEXT PHASE

Milacron has maintained operations in Coimbatore since 2014, when it originally conceptualized its finance shared services center for Milacron. The centre has evolved significantly under the leadership of Suresh Kumar Vasudevan, Director Finance & Head of GBS, supporting Milacron’s broader enterprise transformation.

On July 20, 2026, Milacron inaugurated its expanded Coimbatore GCC, building on its long-standing GBS operations. Led by Suraj Thodimarath, Managing Director of Milacron India, the facility currently supports a multidisciplinary team of ~60 engineers. The scope of the upgraded centre includes a broader portfolio of engineering, digital technologies and enterprise functions. The upgraded hub reflects the centre’s continued evolution into a broader capability center, transitioning into a strategic epicenter for innovation, supporting advanced engineering design, digital technologies, and enterprise operations. The expanded centre will support:

• Engineering & Product Development
• Digital Engineering & IIoT
• Enterprise Technology
• Global Business Services
• Customer Support

Simultaneously, the enterprise is breaking ground on a brand-new facility in Mexico’s premier industrial corridor. During a symbolic foundation ceremony, CEO Mac Jones confirmed the Querétaro plant is explicitly engineered to strengthen customer service across Mexico and Latin America, positioning it as a core node for rapid-response manufacturing.

INDIA’S INDUSTRIAL GCC MOMENTUM

Industrial GCCs are entering a new phase of growth as manufacturing companies increasingly establish engineering, product development and digital capability hubs in India. While early industrial GCCs largely focused on finance, procurement and shared services, newer centres are supporting advanced engineering, Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), digital manufacturing, simulation, product lifecycle management and enterprise technology. Global manufacturers are increasingly leveraging India not only for cost efficiency but also for engineering expertise, product innovation and digital transformation.

Tamil Nadu continues to strengthen its position as a preferred destination for industrial capability centres through its strong manufacturing ecosystem, engineering talent and growing digital capabilities. Companies across automotive, industrial equipment, electronics and advanced manufacturing are increasingly expanding engineering-led GCCs to support global innovation and product development.

THE NEARSHORING ANCHOR: QUERÉTARO, MEXICO

While Coimbatore strengthens global engineering and digital capabilities, the new manufacturing facility in Querétaro enhances regional production capacity and customer responsiveness across the Americas.

• Proximity Imperative: The investment in Querétaro proves reflects how manufacturers are increasingly locating production closer to customers to improve responsiveness and supply chain resilience. The Mexican facility provides unparalleled nearshoring proximity to the massive North American and Latin American markets.
• Bypassing Bottlenecks: By anchoring physical assembly in Mexico, the enterprise effectively reduces regional freight costs, avoids global maritime shipping bottlenecks, and drastically shortens the time-to-market for its massive injection molding and extrusion machines.

STRATEGIC OUTLOOK

Milacron’s simultaneous expansion in India and Mexico reflects how global industrial companies are redesigning their operating models to balance engineering excellence with regional manufacturing capabilities. While the Coimbatore GCC will strengthen product engineering, digital technologies and enterprise capabilities, the new Mexico facility enhances manufacturing proximity to customers across the Americas.

For India’s GCC ecosystem, the investment reinforces another important trend. Industrial enterprises are increasingly evolving their long-standing shared services organisations into engineering-led capability centres that support innovation, digital manufacturing and global product development. As manufacturing becomes increasingly technology-enabled, India-based GCCs are expected to play an increasingly central role in enabling next-generation industrial innovation, digital manufacturing and global engineering excellence.

Curated by SSF Global

Tracking the shifts shaping GCCs, enterprise ecosystems, and the future of global business.

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SSF Global is a Global Community for Enterprise Function Leaders and serves as a research & advisory platform focused on Global Business Services (GBS), Global Capability Centres (GCCs), and the evolution of enterprise innovation in India and beyond. We track, publish, and partner in narratives that shape how capability centres transform into hubs of trust, intelligence, and sustainable growth. We also evaluate, assess and benchmark the GCCs for their performance, maturity and other parameters using our proprietary tools built from the knowledge gained from direct interaction with our members (GCCs & GBS).