CHENNAI: US-based network gear manufacturer CISCO has announced plans to set up a manufacturing facility in Tamil Nadu, its first in India, to address the growing demand for its products in the country. The investment, which will generate 1,200 jobs, targets $1 billion worth of combined exports and domestic market production. Official sources said the state government will be signing a memorandum of understanding with the company soon.
The manufacturing facility will build CISCO’s best-in-class technology, designed to provide flexible and cost-effective delivery of next-generation services and applications, and support complex cloud computing environments.
The products can meet dynamic demands of companies as they strive to foster agility in an increasingly hybrid and digital-first world. CISCO is now building core manufacturing capabilities in India, including testing, development and logistics, and expanding its in-house repair operations. Apart from supporting supply chain resilience to reduce lead time and elevate customer experience, the plant will also give impetus to the local economy.
Official sources said CISCO will be using contract units and partners for manufacturing its products. “It could be Foxconn, Flextronics, Sanmina, Salcomp or others. CISCO has around five to six contract manufacturers,” sources said.
CISCO products from TN to be ready in a year
Recently, tech-major Apple and CISCO had announced plans to develop security, networking, and collaboration solutions to create a secure , high - performance, business-class experience for Apple devices across CI SCO networks.
Details, however, are not available whether it will be for 5G components or other deep technology components. The company has also not commented on the quantum of investment for the plant. CISCO’s chief executive officer Chuck Robbins said the company will have the first product off the line in 12 months and will expand to a wider array of Made-in-India products over a period of time.
The announcement comes after Industries Minister Thangam Thennarasu during his official visit to Davos to take part in the World Economic Forum meet and during his trip to the United States had multiple engagements with CISCO on their investment plan and offered them all support.
“I would like to share that CISCO has announced that they will be manufacturing their products in Tamil Nadu. I would like to thank the CEO of CISCO, Chuck Robbins, and his team for their trust in Tamil Nadu to deliver on their plans,” Thennarasu said in a social media post. India is a key market for CISCO and its second largest research and development centre outside the US.
After commencing operations in India in 1995, CISCO has focused on helping the country digitise at scale and speed, through the Country Digitization Acceleration program, and in building a skilled workforce through the CISCO Networking Academy.