Information Technology

August 7, 2006
Jabil creates waves in India

Runa Mukherjee

NEW DELHI -- When Jabil Circuit, the premier EMS company in the world, acquired Celetronix International in April 2006, it made sure that it made an impact in the Indian industry. Jabil is a diversified provider of comprehensive electronic supply chain services including design, assembly, system integration, order fulfillment, logistic services and post sale support.

Jabil's President and CEO, Timothy Main, believes that India's growing domestic economy and engineering services has made it an increasingly important location to support hardware development and manufacturing for export to the global market.

“Celetronix has grown a great business in India that we plan to augment with Jabil's supply chain and operational expertise," said Bill Muir, Jabil's regional president of Asia. “With a highly-regarded management team, proven technology design and manufacturing competence, we view this acquisition as a superb cost-effective complement to our existing Asia sites," Muir added.

Celetronix is also more than happy to have become a part of Jabil. “We will leverage our existing relationships to make India a leading manufacturing center for the India market and electronics exporting," said Jugi Tandon, CEO, Celetronix, who has now become the CEO of India Venture for Jabil Circuit.

Celetronix provides design and manufacturing services to customers in the consumer, computing and storage markets. The acquisition has added 5,750 employees and 270,000 square feet of manufacturing space in three footprint locations -- Mumbai, Chennai and Pondicherry.

Talking about India's current status in the world market, Bill said that India is still in its nascent stage when rest of the world has performed and advanced. According to him, India is still lacking in some aspects, for example, supply-based facilities and proper import-system. Due to the lack of such infrastructure, fast-paced development is a little deterred.

“Barring that, people are attracted to India today at an explosive rate. This can be attributed to the consumer base of the country that is huge. Of course, the engineering talent is also one of the key reasons," he said.

The company is worth US $1 billion in China, where it was established in 1999. In India, however, it plans to reach this number in the next five years. “We have invested US $ 20 million in our units in Chennai and Ranjangaon initially, to expand the present base and build in the required system support," said Muir. The total investment by Jabil in India is stated as US $100 million.

Discussing about the next big step that the EMS industry will take, Bill Muir said that EMS would play a huge role in the telecom sector in the future. "Telecom infrastructure will grow manifold along with the customer care services and the ongoing outsourcing will continue with greater momentum," he said.

The industry has received a humungous demand for finished products. Any EMS company that can make finished products along with its low-end and high-end products will have an upper edge in the market. "Jabil is coming in a big way in the finished products segment. It can provide the customer with finished products, NGN products, design ownership and can basically deliver to the consumer a complete package," added Muir.

Talking about the advantage Jabil has over its competitors, Bill said: " We are the largest manufacturer and have our units in both south and west zones, that's an advantage. Our company is 25 years old and runs on the individual knowledge and contacts of each one of us."

Jabil’s customers benefit from its unique business model that includes a customised team of experts focused on a single customer, as well as a business unit manufacturing model that dedicates portions of a production facility to the customer. This enterprise-wide commitment to understanding and meeting customers' needs creates deep partnerships that drive breakthrough business results.