Dell manufacturing plant in Chennai

CHENNAI: The US-based PC maker, Dell Computers today announced the setting up of a manufacturing and assembly facility, at the Sriperumbudur SEZ near Chennai.

The initial focus of the facility will be on the production of desktop computers, which make up about 70 per cent of Dell's business in India.

Announcing this to the media, Rajan Anandan, vice president (Sales) for India, said that a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed to this effect with the State Government of Tamil Nadu in the presence of chief minister, M Karunanidhi.

“The facility in India is a manifestation of our dream of becoming the number one computer company in India,” Anandan said adding that the facility would be operational by June next year.

He said that this would pave way for the company to introduce many novel products specifically for the Indian market in the coming years.

Speaking on the occasion, Union Communications and IT Minister, Dayanidhi Maran said that it was a tough negotiation with the computer major and they were convinced about Sriperumbudur only because of the electronic eco-system built in the SEZ.

Paul Henri Ferrand, vice president for South Asian Region, Dell said that the company would be investing $60 million in the next 10 years, in two phases of five-years each.

“We would be investing in technology and manpower,” he said, when asked about the level of investment, which seemed to be very meagre from the world’s largest direct seller of computers.

With the establishment of the new facility, Dell would be providing employment to 1000 people directly and another 4000 indirectly.

Dell currently has manufacturing units in Penang, Malaysia, China, Austin, Nashville, Winston-Salem, Limerick and in Brazil. It is also in the process of setting up another facility in Brazil.

Shakti Kanta Das, secretary, Industries Department, Tamil Nadu Government, said the investment was only from Dell, and from earlier instances it was observed that suppliers to the company would invest seven times as much.

“There is a 180 acre electronics city coming up in the SEZ, where many of the manufacturers and suppliers would be moving in. These companies supply not only to Dell, but also to other companies such as Nokia, Flextronics, Motorola, whose facility in also coming up in the vicinity,” he informed.

The new facility, spread over a 50-acre campus, would be part of the Sriperumbudur Electronics City project, where many SEZs such as Nokia, Motorola, Flextronics and the like have moved in along with their suppliers.