Maxx Mobile to invest Rs 320 cr to set up manufacturing plant

Home grown company Maxx Mobile has plans to invest approximately Rs 320 crore to set up a handset and lithium ion battery manufacturing plant in India.

"We have a vision of being a true Indian mobile handset company. Hence, we have decided to set up a mobile handset manufacturing plant at Haridwar in India. At this plant, we will also have a unit to make lithium ion batteries," Maxx Mobile Communications Managing Director Ajjay Agarwal said.

The company sees advantages in manufacturing mobile handset in India, rather than importing them from China.

"India has a large base of cost-effective labour. Labour costs in China are increasing and this is where India has a distinct advantage," Aggarwal said.

Talking about the cost of labour, he said that an average skilled labourer in China costs Rs 15,000 per month, while in India, the monthly wage for an equally skilled labour is Rs 8,000.

Aggarwal added that the company's Haridwar plant falls in a tax-free zone, where it will receive tax exemption till 2020 under the current provisions.

"Overall, we have 10 to 15% savings from manufacturing in India compared to buying from China," he said.

Maxx Mobile will set up a mobile phone production facility in the next six months and the lithium ion battery plan will be established in the next 12 to 18 months' time.

"We have earmarked an investment of Rs 320 crore on these new projects," Aggarwal said.

The planned mobile phone manufacturing facility will have the capacity to produce 3.6 million handsets annually and the lithium ion plant will have a production capacity of 30 million units annually, he elaborated.

The company has a target for achieving a Rs 2,500 crore revenue in the next two years by expanding business, which was close to Rs 1,450 crore in the previous financial year.

"With growth in business, we also see need of increasing headcount from 2,500 to 16,000 by the end of 2012," Aggarwal added.

Maxx already has three manufacturing units in India, two at Haridwar and one Mumbai, for making mobile phone batteries and chargers.

The company says it has invested Rs 350 crore on the Haridwar facility.

Aggarwal said that Maxx Mobile will be the first homegrown handset company in India to have complete indigenous manufacturing facilities for its mobile phones.