CHENNAI, India, March 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The world leader in mobile communications today inaugurated its manufacturing facility in Sriperumbudur, Chennai, India. Present at the inauguration, were the Honorable Prime Minister of Finland, Mr. Matti Vanhanen, Minister of Transport and Communications, Susanna Huovinen, Honorable Governor of Tamil Nadu, Shri Surjit Singh Barnala, Secretary to the Government of India and Chairman of Telecom Commission, Dr J.S Sarma, and senior Nokia executives including Mr. Jorma Ollila, Chairman & CEO and Mr. Robert Andersson, Executive Vice President, Customer & Market Operations, amongst others. The manufacturing facility in Chennai is Nokia's fifteenth manufacturing facility globally. Nokia is the only company in India whose facility manufactures both mobile devices and network infrastructure equipment.
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 1100 people and expects to significantly expand its work force in India over time.
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, Mr. Jorma Ollila, Chairman & CEO of Nokia said, "India is amongst the top 5 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," he added.
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.
About Nokia
Nokia is a world leader in mobile communications, driving the growth and sustainability of the broader mobility industry. Nokia connects people to each other and the information that matters to them with easy-to-use and innovative products like mobile phones, devices and solutions for imaging, games, media and businesses. Nokia provides equipment, solutions and services for network operators and corporations.
