HCL kicks off new Connecticut GDC with Stanley Black and Decker as anchor client

Noida-based information technology (IT) services firm HCL Technologies will set up a GDC (global delivery centre) in Hartford, Connecticut, to offer digital transformation services to clients in the smart manufacturing, insurance, aerospace and defence industries.

The first anchor client for the new GDC is the US-based industrial tools maker Stanley Black and Decker. According to local media reports, HCL will help Stanley run its servers and other technology infrastructure. It will also add some 1,000 workers globally for the project. 

Financial details of the deal with Stanley Black and Decker were not disclosed. 

“This delivery centre will be a true testament to our collective vision for digital and transformative technologies for smart manufacturing,” Ajay Bahl, executive vice president for MEGALT Verticals in the US for HCL Technologies, said.

Although Stanley Black and Decker will maintain its in-house IT department, a few of its employees will be transferred to HCL, the Hartford Business Journal reported. 

The region has seen an increase in investment in the technology space, with the latest being jet engine maker United Technologies’ $40 million testing facility in East Hartford. Stanley Black and Decker opened an innovation hub in the city last April

“Partnering with HCL is an important component of our strategy to digitally transform our organisation and drive resilience and efficiency across the business. We are also pleased that they will be locating a global delivery center in Hartford, which will continue to add to the city’s presence as a significant digital and technology innovation hub.” Don Allan, EVP and chief financial officer at Stanley Black & Decker said.

HCL has set up several GDCs in recent months. In December 2019, it launched a GDC in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada. The firm also opened two other delivery centres in Lithuania to cater its digital transformation capabilities for clients in the Baltic, Nordic and Benelux regions.

Earlier this month, HCL Technologies signed an agreement with the Board of Investment in Sri Lanka to set up a global delivery centre in Colombo. The company said that HCL’s local entity, HCL Technologies Lanka, will work with IT companies and engineering institutions in the country to train the local talent pool.

New Zealand’s dairy cooperative Fonterra has chosen HCL Technologies to modernise and manage its technology infrastructure. The multi-year partnership aims to consolidate the milk cooperative’s technology suppliers and bring together the information technology (IT) infrastructure services under one umbrella.