Leading Taiwanese electronic manufacturer Wistron, better known as Apple assembler in India, has entered into a strategic partnership with DelhI-based Optiemus Electronics Limited (OEL), a multibrand mobile handset maker, for manufacture of mobiles phones, hearables and wearables, IT hardware and laptops, 5G components and electric vehicle parts.
As per the deal, OEL will invest Rs 1,350 crore in the next 3 to 5 years and hire close to 11,000 workers with an aim to achieving a revenue of Rs 38,000 crore in the manufacture of various products.
Both Wistron and OEL are among the entities that will get production-linked incentives (PLI) from the Union ministry of electronics and information technology that offers an incentive of 4-6% on incremental sales for a period of five years from 2019-20.
OEL and Wistron alliance hopes to offer Taiwanese technology at optimised cost and PLI sharing under a single umbrella.
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The partnership is backed by joint product development, engineering capabilities, software and firmware development. The alliance will create a joint hub in India for Design Solutions Product Development apart from bringing smart manufacturing to India.
The joint venture will explore both the domestic and overseas markets from its manufacturing facilities. According to Optiemus it is already in advanced discussions with a large global company to make smartphones. Wistron too is in talks with a couple of companies.
OEL is currently working with three companies, including audio products maker Noise. It is pertinent to point out here that Wistron and Optiemus are coming together for the second time in India. Wistron entered India in 2015 riding on a minority equity stake in Optiemus to assemble devices for brands like HTC and LG. Wistron has since sold its equity back to Optiemus.
OEL currently has two units in Noida (near New Delhi) and they both together boast of capacity to manufacture 2 million handsets per month.
“Our expansion plan will largely depend on what the customers would want. If there is a requirement for further capacity, we will do that,” OEL's managing director A Gururaj was quoted as saying.
Wistron has a manufacturing base in Karnataka that saw some unseemly events last year.
David Shen, President & CEO, Wistron Smart Devices said, “The PLI scheme will be a key enabler to bridge any gaps in developing the ecosystem for the next decade. It is time to extend our support to our Indian partner as we embark on a wonderful and exciting journey together.”
