Patton Electronics opens Indian subsidiary

US data communications products manufacturer Patton Electronics has launched its Indian operations out of Chennai through an Indian subsidiary.

The company has been distributing its products in India over the past few years. The Chennai-based subsidiary Patton India will start off with 12 people on its rolls and will initially house the marketing and technical support operations of Patton. Patton India will eventually scale up to over 100 people once the company sets up an R&D centre and manufacturing unit in Chennai, and opens sales offices in other cities.

Burton A Patton, executive vice-president, Patton Electronics, who will serve as acting president of Patton India, said, "The sustained expansion in India's telecom and networking sectors is too lucrative to ignore. The telecom equipment market here is growing, and the talent base is huge."

Patton India is backed by investments from Patton-Inalp Holdings of Switzerland, Patton Electronics and Microsense, the company's former marketing and distribution partner in India.

Patton India has been largely formed with Microsense employees, who previously handled Patton's product portfolio.

Patton India will develop solutions for telecom carriers, service providers and enterprises through outsourced software development. While taking its growth plans to the next level, the company will increase its local software development component out of India. It will also focus on local hardware development and manufacturing in India for its data communication products, in particular, VoIP solutions where the company has a strong presence.

The $100-million Patton Electronics is headquartered in Gaithersburg, Maryland, and has over 1,000 products and 200 distributors in its portfolio.