Nokia commenced commercial production of mobile handsets at its India factory on the 2nd of January 2006 and has achieved the milestone of manufacturing over one million handsets in India to date. The Chennai manufacturing facility currently employs 1,100 people and expects to significantly expand its workforce in India over time.
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, Ollila said, "India is among the top five telecom markets in the world. Setting up this manufacturing facility in India reiterates our long term commitment to the Indian market. We are proud to have only taken 23 weeks from the time we started construction to rolling out the first products at this state-of-the-art manufacturing facility. Chennai is a great location with excellent state and central government support, availability of skilled labor and a conducive business environment. I am confident that our manufacturing facility in Chennai will enable us to reduce our time to market and better respond to our customer requirements in this market and around the region.
"We anticipate that there will be a long term sustainable demand for mobile telephony in the fast growing Indian market. In fact, we estimate that India will become the world's second-biggest mobile device market when measured by volumes in year 2010. There is tremendous potential to bring mobile communications for the very first time to many in India who do not yet have any access to communications. To bring the benefits of mobility to the first time subscribers, Nokia is working closely with operators to lower the total cost of ownership with affordable handsets and cost-efficient network solutions."
Nokia has played a pioneering role in the growth of cellular technology in India, starting with the first-ever GSM cellular call a decade ago on a Nokia mobile phone over a Nokia-deployed network. The addition of a manufacturing facility in India strengthens Nokia's commitment to the market.
Nokia will invest up to approximately USD 150 million in its India manufacturing plant which will support the growing demand for mobile handsets and network infrastructure in the Asia Pacific region.
