Water technology company Gradiant is expanding its India operations following five new design-build contract wins across semiconductor, printed circuit board (PCB) and solar manufacturing, alongside the appointment of a new country managing director and plans to increase its India workforce by more than 40% this year.
The company has appointed Hari Prasad as managing director, India, where he will oversee its expansion across the semiconductor, data centre and energy sectors. Prasad brings nearly 30 years of experience in water technology, most recently serving as general manager, industrial water at Pentair, and previously holding senior roles across India, the Middle East and Africa.
The new contracts cover ultrapure water (UPW), wastewater treatment and zero liquid discharge (ZLD) systems. They include a repeat award from a global chipmaker for the expansion of an existing fabrication facility, pointing to continued demand for water infrastructure as India’s semiconductor manufacturing capacity grows.
Gradiant said customers selected its systems based on water recovery rates, ZLD performance and project execution timelines. The projects will support manufacturing facilities that must meet India’s increasingly stringent industrial wastewater discharge requirements while maintaining reliable water supplies for production.
“India is fast becoming one of the most important places to build the AI supply chain, from chips to circuit boards to solar cells,” said Prakash Govindan, CEO of Gradiant. “When a chipmaker comes back to us for its next expansion, that is the strongest endorsement we can get. With Hari’s leadership and an engineering team in India that serves customers here and around the world, we are well placed to be the single accountable water partner for that build-out.”
The expansion also includes additional hiring across engineering, project execution, operations and digital functions. Recruitment will support Gradiant’s India operations as well as its Gradiant Engineering Center in Coimbatore, which provides engineering support for projects globally.
The company said its India orders are on track to more than double this year, with revenue expected to more than triple. The growth comes as India expands domestic manufacturing capacity in semiconductors, electronics and renewable energy, industries where water treatment and reuse are critical to plant operations.
“Our orders in India are on track to more than double this year, with revenue set to more than triple,” said Prasad. “A fab or a solar plant can’t run a single shift without water, and the ZLD rules here leave no room for shortcuts. That is exactly where Gradiant wins, and with the pipeline in front of us, we need more engineers to keep up.”
For Gradiant, the India expansion increases its exposure to several of the country’s fastest-growing industrial segments while positioning its local engineering and project delivery capabilities to serve both domestic and international projects.