CHENNAI: Engineering giant Rolls-Royce has signalled a major expansion in Tamil Nadu, as the state secured a series of high-profile investment commitments from UK-based firms across aerospace, clean energy, maritime intelligence and textile technology, including Rs 520-crore deal with Britannia Garment Packaging and Rs 300 crore agreement with Wilson Power & Distribution Technologies.
The announcement came during the UK leg of Chief Minister MK Stalin’s European investment tour. The trip marks one of the first proactive state-level campaigns from India to leverage opportunities under the proposed India–UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA).
A release from the government said Rolls-Royce, during a meeting with the CM-led delegation, expressed its intention to scale up operations with plans for a maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility, a research and development centre, and a training institute and expansion of its joint venture, International Aerospace Manufacturing Pvt Ltd (IAMPL) in Hosur.
TN, which hosts one of India’s two Defence Industrial Corridors, has in recent years positioned itself as a nucleus for precision engineering and high-value manufacturing. The agreement with Rolls-Royce is seen as a key validation of its strategy to become a key node in aerospace supply chains.
Textiles, a mainstay of Tamil Nadu’s export economy, also featured prominently. UK-based Britannia Garment Packaging — through its Indian subsidiary Britannia RFID Technologies — will invest Rs 520 crore to set up a high-capacity RFID tag manufacturing unit in Tiruppur and Namakkal, creating 550 jobs.
Wilson Power & Distribution Technologies, which announced a Rs 300-crore project to build a new electric transformer manufacturing facility in the state, is expected to generate 543 new jobs.
In the maritime sector, Lloyd’s List Intelligence, a leading provider of vessel tracking, maritime risk analytics and insurance data, signed an MoU to expand its Global Capability Centre in Chennai, creating 200 jobs by FY2026.
The state also inked agreements in education and design. French-origin creative institute École Intuit Lab will partner with Sakthi Excellence Academy to launch a new design-focused higher education institution in Coimbatore, aimed at nurturing creative professionals across branding, media and innovation sectors.
Separately, the University of Exeter signed a partnership with TN to promote joint research, faculty exchanges, and collaborative programmes in priority disciplines.
Stalin later said in a post on X, “Six strategic wins for TN in London today, powering growth, innovation and future readiness. Our agreements with Wilson Power and Britannia RFID will boost our renewable energy industry and improve the competitiveness of exporters from Western Tamil Nadu.”