Tuesday, January 31, 2006

Dell to make PCs in India

World's largest computer maker Dell on Monday said it will set up a manufacturing facility in India.

"We have concluded that time is right to consider a manufacturing site in India... we are looking for a location," Dell chief executive officer Kevin Rollins said in New Delhi.
Dell, presently, employs 10,000 people at its support and product development centres in India.
"Time is ripe for second phase of our expansion in India. We are talking to the Federal (Centre) government and state governments as to where is the best place to set up a manufacturing site," Rollins said.
Dell has seven manufacturing plants all over the world and the India unit would be the eighth such facility.

He said the manufacturing site would be selected on the basis of how good the logistics were in an area, able work force and cooperation the company can get from the local government.
Rollins said the company has not decided on the time frame for the manufacturing facility but would like it to come up sooner than later.
He did not specify the investment that would go into the unit saying that it was yet to be decided.

The manufacturing unit of Dell in India would cater to the local market to start with.
The main consideration driving Dell's manufacturing plans was the growth of the Indian personal computer market which will touch four million units this year and grow to 10 millon units in next three to five years.
Dell's share of India's computer market stands at 3.5-4.0 per cent and the company has plans to increase it further.

Rollins, who met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh early on Monday, conveyed to him Dell's commitment to India and its plans to set up manufacturing base and develop the market.
"We also told him that when Dell sets up a manufacturing base in a location a whole ecosystem of suppliers and logistics gets build around it," he said.Rollins said the prime minister was supportive of Dell's plans.
For details read here.