To trigger manufacture of electronic components in Tamil Nadu on the lines of auto components, Deputy Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Sunday invited manufacturers to invest in the State.
Inaugurating the manufacturing facility of a US-based Sanmina-SCI on the Oragadam Electronic Hardware SEZ campus, he said: “Though Chennai has become a major manufacturing hub for electronic hardware, as a country we are still heavily dependent on import of electronic components. The import content is as high as 75 per cent to 85 per cent. This highlights the enormous potential for local manufacturing to substitute imports. In contrast, the local content in automobile projects is as high as 80 to 85 per cent.”
Mentioning that three out of the five top global Electronics Manufacturing services (EMS) firms, including Sanmina-SCI, had based their units near Chennai, Mr. Stalin requested the Sanmina-SCI officials to establish a printed circuit board manufacturing facility and assured them of full support.
The State government was able to attract electronic hardware projects such as Motorola, Dell, Samsung, Tessolve Semi-conductor, Videocon, Nokia-Siemens, Signet-Solar and Moser-Baer near Chennai with a total investment of about Rs.8,000 crore.
They had provided jobs to over 45,000 persons (directly and indirectly).
“Since the electronics system manufacturing is human capital intensive, the direct to indirect employment multiplier ratio is about 1:6.3. It is for this reason that electronic hardware projects need to be attracted to our State. I have also requested Nokia to expand its operations substantially and to bring in their suppliers to Chennai,” he said.
Industries Secretary Rajeev Ranjan said that according to the original plan, the Sanmina-SCI was to invest Rs.225 crore and employ 1,300 people.
“They have done better and invested around Rs.250 crore and employed 1,500 people, of which 80 per cent are from neighbouring villages.”
Sanmina-SCI Corporation president and Chief Operating Officer Hari Pillai said that they were three years ahead of schedule in terms of investment and would hire 10,000 people over the next five years. Currently, their plants in China and Mexico employed more than 10,000 people.
“Our long term vision is to be a true global major player in India and make it a best place in the world. India is the 18th country we are stepping in and we are committed to providing leading-edge technology services and cost competitive solutions to the Indian market and to the entire sub-continent,” said Sanmina-SCI Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jure Sola.
Located on 100 acres in Oragadam, Sanmina-SCI is a leading EMS provider focused on delivering complete end-to-end manufacturing capabilities and highly complex solutions to technology companies around the world. The markets served include communications, enterprise computing and storage, defence and aerospace, medical, renewable energy and multimedia markets.
