Harman International, a world-class developer, manufacturer and retailer of audio and infotainment products, broke ground for its fourth global product development center on the morning of August 8 in Suzhou Industrial Park. The 20-million-dollar facility will be used for developing and testing auto and consumer audio products.

Founded in 1952 and headquartered in Washington DC, Harman International has over 30 factories and offices in America, Europe, and Asia, including Harman Becker Automotive Electronic Systems based in SIP, which is Harman's 13th factory in the world and the first in Asia. With a total land area of 9.7 hectares and construction area of 30,600 square meters, the Suzhou plant produces auto electronic systems and recorded sales of 190 million US dollars in 2013.

The new R&D center is located within the premises of Harman's SIP plant with initial investment of 6 million dollars on building 12,000-square-meter R&D facilities and offices. It will also provide test services of acoustic environment, EMC, machine, acoustics, and regulator for Harman's factories all over the world.

After twenty years of continuous development, SIP has become one of the top development zones in the country with considerable competitiveness, which appeals to both investors and high-end talents. There are at present more than 5,000 foreign companies and 400 R&D centers in SIP.