Noida now has the largest mobile factory in the world
What's the story
Thanks to Samsung, Noida can now boast of the world's largest mobile manufacturing factory, a tag which puts it on the global manufacturing map.
The plant, which started with TV manufacturing in 1997, had several units added over the years.
Last year, Samsung announced plans to expand the plant, and now, the facility is ready to double its production.
Here are the details.
Information
The facility will see a high-profile inauguration
The new, 35-acre Samsung facility is located at Sector 81 in Noida, Uttar Pradesh. In a rather high-profile inauguration, the facility will see PM Narendra Modi and South Korean President Moon Jae-in land together in a hastily-prepared helipad adjacent to the factory, on Monday.
Noida plant
A brief history of Samsung's Noida plant
The foundation stone of the Noida plant was laid by Samsung in 1996.
In 1997, the plant started manufacturing televisions, and in 2003, expanded to manufacturing refrigerators.
In 2005, the current mobile manufacturing unit was added, production began in 2007, and in 2012, when Samsung became the country's leading mobile manufacturer, the Noida facility rolled out the first-ever Samsung Galaxy S3 phone.
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Samsung India's jobs footprint
Samsung India has two manufacturing plants - Noida, UP, and Sriperumbudur, TN - one design centre in Noida, and five R&D centres, and employs over 70,000 people. Its network comprises 1.5 lakh retail outlets.
Production
How the Noida facility will augment Samsung's manufacturing capacity
In June last year, Samsung announced a Rs. 4,915cr investment for expanding the Noida facility.
Samsung currently manufactures 67 million smartphones annually in India in its Noida plant, and Sriperumbudur plant in Tamil Nadu, combined.
With the new Noida expansion being functional, Samsung will be able to manufacture 120 million smartphones in India annually.
Additionally, it'll also double Samsung's consumer electronics producing capacity.
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Samsung wants half its global production in India
Currently, only 10% of Samsung's global production happens in India. However, the electronics giant has plans to take that number to 50% in the next three years, a desire which is pretty evident in the expansion of the Noida plant.
Market advantage
The new facility gives Samsung a significant competitive edge
According to experts, the new facility will help Samsung strengthen its hold over not just the Indian mobile market (which it currently leads, anyway), but also the market for consumer electronics like refrigerators, flat panel televisions, etc.
The new facility, being domestically located, also gives Samsung an advantage by reducing time to market.
The facility will start production from July 9.