HCL is all set to double its Capacity with its New Facility at Rudrapur

According to a folklore when King Rudra was passing through, his chariot got stuck in a marshy land. So, he decided to build a temple and a well at that place. This Atariya Temple is the same situated at a distance of two kilometers from the bus stand and half a kilometer away from the Rudrapur-Haldwani motor route. Now, the calm and quiet city of Rudrapur has again grabbed the attention of one of India’s premier information-enabling and system integration companies, HCL Infosystems. It has inaugurated its new manufacturing facility here, with the aim to double its overall capacity to two million units per annum. VARIndia witnessed the inauguration ceremony, which was graced by Mr. N. D. Tiwari, Chief Minister of Uttaranchal. Following is the report.

The sunrise on 27 October was the most promising at Rudrapur, as Mr. N. D. Tiwari, Chief Minister of Uttaranchal, inaugurated HCL’s second manufacturing plant spread over 10 acres of land in the SIDCUL Industrial Estate at Pantnagar. This largest-in-area plant will initially manufacture 3,000 PC units a year. “This will be ramped up to 10 lakh per annum in two–three years’ time at a cost of Rs.75 crore in three–five years, a part of which has already been invested,” claims HCL Infosystems’ Chairman & CEO, Mr. Ajai Chowdhry.

“This facility will complement our existing manufacturing base at Pondicherry, which has the capacity of 10 lakh PCs per annum, taking our overall annual capacity to two million units per annum,’’ Chowdhry informed.

Inaugurating the facility, Mr. N. D. Tiwari said, “We are sure that this new facility of HCL will further enable them to take computing and ICT right till the most remote corners of the country and will also prominently display the state of Uttaranchal on the Indian IT map.” The new manufacturing unit is spread over 10 acres of land at SIDCUL Industrial Estate at Pantagar in Rudrapur. This facility will enhance the overall capacity of HCL to 2 million PCs per annum. Beginning with desktop computers and LCD monitors, the plant is capable of manufacturing the entire range of ICT products, including notebooks, servers and thin clients. While HCL has recruited more than 200 local employees, it plans to recruit 500 persons in various capacities as it reaches its full capacity. George Paul, Executive Vice-President (Marketing), HCL Infosystems Ltd., gave availaibility of technical skill and development of real estate in the region as the main reason for choosing Rudrapur.

Completed in eight months’ time after commissioning, the new HCL manufacturing base has already received its ISO 14001, ISO 9001:2000 certifications and has the capability to manufacture an entire spectrum of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) products, including notebooks, servers and thin clients.

“With multi-product manufacturing capabilities, HCL will be India’s largest vertically integrated ICT manufacturing facility. Besides enabling us to manufacture a wide spectrum of ICT products, this facility will also allow us to offer more enhanced value to our customers through better logistics efficiency, lower time to market as well as de-risk our complete manufacturing portfolio with strong facility base in both southern and northern India,’’ he said.

“Moreover, it makes the company future-ready to take on the expected strong growth potential in the Indian PC market,” Chowdhry added. HCL Infosystems currently manufactures 40 per cent of all the components of a computer, including LCD monitors, keyboards and management software, and endeavours to take up production of more components like optical drives and power supplies in future. Presently, it outsources the manufacturing of optical drives and power supplies to foreign firms and local manufacturers.

Speaking on its plan to manufacturing more components, Mr. Chowdhry said that taking up more manufacturing requires policy formation regarding areas like component manufacturing by the government. He pointed out that MAIT has prepared a list of recommendations regarding the infrastructure creation and allowing components manufacturing on a larger scale. The list will soon be presented to the government.

“As a result of this plant, HCL Infosystems is all set to create more retail by the end of the next year,” informed Ajai Chowdhry.” “We would like to increase the number of retail chains to 100 by the end of 2007,” he announced during the inauguration.

HCL officials informed VARIndia that there are two major reasons for opening up a facility at Rudrapur. One is that the Governmet of Uttaranchal is lending all its support to the IT companies to explore the opportunities of Rudrapur as the emerging IT hub. The second reason is that B, C & D class markets are very promising and are outpacing the growth of metros. So, HCL required a helping hand for its manufacturing plant.

Talking more on the retail plans, Chowdhry added, “Some of our channel partners have shifted from dealers to retailing, while some are in the process of upgrading for our Digital Lifestyle Stores (DLS).” He also informed that the smaller cities will have a mix of both dealers and retailers. Initially, he sees more revenues pouring in from the A-class cities, as more high-end products will be targeted towards them, but gradually the smaller cities might take over, though it is difficult to predict, he declared.

The new HCL facility has installed several state-of-the-art processes as well as advanced testing techniques. Some of these initiatives include components especially sourced and tested for their tolerance towards temperature, humidity and heat, special wireless LAN-based Reliability tests, extreme temperature tests, 5-feet drop tests and other tests like which (electrostatic discharge) ESD test, Earth Leakage test, etc.

Further, HCL also demonstrated the “Build-to-order” (BTO) capabilities of the manufacturing plant. This enables HCL to manufacture and design ICT products with specific configurations”– customized to suit the needs of particular customers, in a matter of few hours. SAP is used right from the entry point till the shipment, while the order entry is also done through automated configuration, which ensures technical compatibility and correctness. The plant is networked and online with HCL branch and head offices. The state-of-the-art IT systems in MRP, ERP, Online configurations are also in place to leverage the power of IT in delivering optimum efficiency.

Mr. George Paul, Executive Vice-President–– Marketing, HCL Infosystems, said, “To be set up with a total investment of Rs.75 crore over the next three–five years, this facility is the largest vertically integrated ICT manufacturing facility in India. This facility will also act as a strong catalyst for the development of regional economy. While we have already recruited more than 200 local employees, we plan to up this number to around 500 people in various capabilities as it commissions to its full capacity.”

In the end...
HCL officials also informed VARIndia that the opening of this facility is not only going to benefit the company, but will also be a boon for the city. The company has plans to do social development work for the workers, by the workers and of the workers.