Nokia phones to be manufactured in India

Sriperumbudur,(Tamil Nadu), Mar 11: World leader in handset manufacturing, Nokia todaylaunched its first handset factory here with an investment of 150 million dollars.

''We anticipate that there will be a long-term sustainable demand for mobile telephony in the fast-growing Indian market,'' Nokia's Chief Executive Jorma Ollila said at the launch of the plant in Sriperumbudur, about 50 Kms from Chennai.

''I am confident that our manufacturing facility in Chennai will enable us to reduce our time to market,'' he said.

Nokia's two suppliers, Aspocomp group and Perlos Corp. will invest 70 million dollars and 12 million dollars respectively to set up a printed circuit board facility and a mechanics factory.

The plant in Sriperumbudur is the Finnish giant's fourth handset factory in Asia and 10th globally and Chennai is fast becoming a magnet for high-end hardware manufacturing.

Nokia also said that two of its suppliers were commencing operations within the Nokia India Telecom Industry Park here.

Nokia also announced that a total of 8-10 global and domestic component suppliers and service providers will be located within the Nokia India Telecom Industry Park.

The Nokia Telecom Industry Park is estimated to generate 10,000 job opportunities when it is in full operation and will ensure that the Nokia India Chennai factory has a consistent supply of material and services from reliable, collaborative sources of global and local suppliers.

The global component suppliers Aspocomp Group (Oyj) has decided to expand its High Density Interconnections (HDI) business operations by building a new printed circuit board plant in the Nokia Telecom Industry Park here.

The plant will be India's first high technology HDI printed circuit board production facility and will be set up at an investment of over 70 million dollars.

Additionally Perlos Corporation, the world's largest supplier of mechanics for the telecommunications industry, will build a manufacturing plant within the Nokia Telecom Industry Park at an investment of approximately USD 12 million. The plant will be a similar full-service manufacturing unit to those Perlos already operates in Asia, Europe and the Americas.

Commenting on the strategic importance of the Nokia Telecom Industry Park and the positive socio-economic impact it will have on the region, Mr Jukka Lehtela of Nokia said ''The mission of the Nokia Telecom Industry Park is to create a network of co-located and co-dependent partners that operate at world class standards and manufacture high quality products that set the benchmark for the mobile industry.

Chennai was selected as the location for the Nokia Telecom Industry Park due to the availability of skilled labor, support from the state government and the presence of good logistics connections and we are confident that this Telecom Industry Park will give a tremendous boost to the local economy by generating jobs and improving the social infrastructure of the region.'' Ms Maija- Liisa Friman, CEO, Aspocomp, said ''The expansion into India is a logical step in the implementation of our strategy that has already started in Thailand and China. India is an attractive and rapidly growing market for printed circuit boards. This project is important as it significantly reinforces our ability to service our global customers. The project combines high technology products, production flexibility, a good delivery capacity, and a competitive cost level."

Mr Isto Hantila, President and CEO, Perlos Corporation said, ''Perlos has been investing heavily in the Asia-Pacific region in the past few years to respond to the growing demand for handset manufacturing services. Our new plant here in Chennai will be an important addition to our global presence. With this new plant, we will be able to offer services to mobile device manufacturers investing in India and to companies providing electronics manufacturing services.'' Developing the Nokia Telecom Industry Park in Chennai into a world class high-tech industrial zone is an important part of Nokia's global manufacturing strategy.

The Telecom Industry Park not only underlines Nokia's successful cooperation with the Indian government but also represents a unique and optimized business model that will provide growth opportunities for all parties in the value chain. The 210.87 acres of land in the Telecom Industry Park will provide Nokia with the benefits of a pollution free environment, in-house customs clearance, and uninterrupted power supply.

UNI