The offices that manufacturers build

Swank offices are no longer the preserve of sunrise companies. The Old Economy is building new ones.

When one thinks of sophisticated and plush offices, automatically one thinks of Infosys, Wipro, TCS or any of the international tech parks in Bangalore, etc.

These are soon going to be rivalled by the corporate offices of manufacturing companies.

The latest to join the bandwagon is Ashok Leyland. The second largest vehicle maker in the country is constructing a 10-storey landmark building at the heart of Chennai, in Guindy.

R Seshasayee, managing director, Ashok Leyland, announced last month that the company would invest Rs 50 crore in its corporate office.

The flagship company of the Hinduja group would finally move in for occupation in its own premise during June next year after a four decade tenure in a leased facility at Parrys. Most of the company's operations in different parts of the city will be streamlined in it corporate office.

Auto companies as well as auto component companies not only sets great store by their manufacturing facilities since it is where the products are created but also corporate offices since most of its export transaction are finalised at the latter.

Automotive battery maker Amara Raja's corporate office has rooms painted in vibrants colour of green, orange and silver.

Gopal Mahadevan, chief financial officer, Amara Raja says that when the company was building a new team and had aggressive plans on creating the brand, Amaron, five years ago, it wanted its corporate office to mirror the image of 'Powered by Innovation', the adage of the company.

"The image change over of the corporate office also saw positive impact in terms of employees performance since there was a lot open space. The office was designed by Chennai-based architect Sujatha Shankar," adds Mahadevan.

Rane group companies that have won Deming prize for quality control which manufacture auto components had roped in specialist architects such as Gherzi part of Wadia group to design its corporate office of 20,000 sq ft five years ago in Chennai.

A real estate consultant says gone are the days that only software and business process outsourcing companies had plush offices. These days everyone from banks to pharmaceutical companies to auto companies, irrespective of industry, large or small, want swank offices for themselves.

He points out that the image makeover of corporate office have significantly increased since it reflects the image of the company to the outside world.

Shivaram Mallakal, director, Keystone, a real estate consultancy firm says the corporate office of a company is linked to its brand image.

Peer pressure is another factor as companies do not want to be seen as lagging behind the times and therefore invest in styling their offices. A good workplace is also seen to boost the morale of the employees, he adds.

In comparison with software companies, automobile companies may not make huge investments in corporate offices since they would naturally like to give more resources to the factories. But they do take a very careful look at the architecture.