KOCHI: Perumbavoor, long known as Kerala’s plywood hub, is scripting an unlikely new chapter — one written not in sawdust, but in silicon.
On February 11, the land that once hosted Travancore Rayons, India’s first rayon manufacturing plant, welcomed a different kind of industry. Kaynes Technology India Limited, an electronics system design and manufacturing (ESDM) firm, inaugurated its first production unit in Kerala at Rayonpuram, marking a symbolic shift from the region’s industrial past to its tech-driven future.
For residents, the transformation is nothing short of remarkable. After Travancore Rayons shut down in 2001 and Kerala Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (Kinfra) took over the property in 2014, the once-bustling campus lay abandoned for more than a decade, its crumbling structures serving as reminders of lost livelihoods. That changed after Kaynes Technology entered the scene following the Invest Kerala Global Summit in February 2025.
Kaynes Technology, which operates 20 establishments across India and is setting up a `3,600 crore semiconductor facility in Gujarat, was introduced to the Rayonpuram site during the summit. Seen as environmentally safer than heavy industries, the company was considered a suitable fit for the ecologically sensitive area. The land was formally handed over in September 2025, and within months, the first phase, the Alpha Building, was ready. The two-storey, 15,000 sq ft facility has begun manufacturing laptops, with production of smart energy meters set to follow.
“The government chose a future-focused path by developing an electronics manufacturing ecosystem. This decision has now enabled the launch of a high-value manufacturing unit that will create more than 1,500 high-skilled jobs for Kerala’s youth. I was also happy to receive the first computer manufactured at the unit during the inauguration,” Industries Minister P Rajeeve said.
According to Rajeeve, several Malayali software engineers have relocated from Bengaluru to Kochi to work with Kaynes Technology, while at least three engineers have returned from the United States to join the company. The minister described this as an early sign of Kerala emerging as a serious destination for high-end electronics manufacturing.
Kaynes Technology has leased 28 acres from Kinfra for 90 years, with plans to expand through three additional facilities — the Beta, Gamma, and Delta buildings — after securing necessary forestry clearances. Two acres have been earmarked for a water treatment plant.“Kinfra owns 30 acres of the total land, out of which 28 acres have been leased to Kaynes for a period of 90 years, while 2 acres have been marked for the setting up of a water treatment plant. The upcoming phases of the project will be rolled out after necessary forestry clearance in the area,” said Deepak Sleeba George, senior vice-president of operations at Kaynes Technology and site head of the Rayonpuram unit.
The shift carries deep historical significance. Travancore Rayons, established in 1946 by industrialist M Ct M Chidambaram Chettyar, once powered Perumbavoor’s growth, transforming it into an industrial town. But mismanagement, competition from synthetic alternatives, and mounting debts led to its closure in 2001. The firm also left behind an environmental scar, with former employees earlier telling TNIE that sulphuric acid waste and emissions had polluted the air and water.
Today, those scars remain, but so does hope. Where chimneys once spewed smoke, assembly lines are now producing laptops. And where an industrial giant once collapsed, a new ecosystem is slowly taking shape.