Samsung has begun manufacturing laptops in its Greater Noida plant in a low-profile development, another milestone in the South Korean tech giant’s increasing focus on India as a manufacturing base. The development follows on the heels of the company’s gradual ramp-up of its India manufacturing capacity, following almost three decades of manufacturing presence in the country.
Sources close to the development have confirmed that Samsung has included laptop manufacturing in its current line of production in the Greater Noida plant. The plant currently manufactures a variety of Samsung products ranging from feature phones to smartphone, wearables, and tablets.
Samsung Begins Laptop Manufacturing in India
The laptop production project was formally recognized at the weekend when Union Electronics and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw invited Samsung’s top brass. After talks with Samsung Southwest Asia President and CEO JB Park and Corporate Vice President SP Chun, Vaishnaw said that “Samsung continues to expand manufacturing of its advanced technology devices in Bharat, driven by talent and innovation.”
This was on the cards. Samsung Electronics President and Mobile eXperience Business Head TM Roh had previously in the year provided an indication that the firm was getting ready to make laptops in India locally, setting the stage for this current development.
Samsung’s Greater Noida plant holds significance as one of India’s first global electronics manufacturing facilities, inaugurated back in 1996. It has grown to be a principal manufacturing hub for Samsung’s wide range of products, contributing significantly to domestic consumption and exports.
A Strategic Move Aligned with Manufacturing Ambitions
Samsung’s timing in venturing into the manufacture of laptops is especially significant, considering the growing significance of India in the world’s electronics manufacturing. Samsung already has the world’s second-largest mobile phone manufacturing plant in India and is the country’s second-largest handset exporter in terms of volume after Apple.
Though it is a force to be reckoned with in smartphones and other product categories, Samsung has a special challenge to overcome in the laptop category in India. Still it rules the smartphone space, second both in value and volume terms, says Counterpoint Research it has yet to make a big impact in the laptop category. This new manufacturing capability could be the push Samsung needs to penetrate more seriously in this competitive market.
The company’s history in other device segments in India is impressive. Samsung is number two in the market for tablet PCs with a 15 percent market share, according to CyberMedia Research. The achievement in the tablets tells us that Samsung has the capability to fare well in India’s computing device market.
The laptop manufacturing project is aligned with India’s vision to become a global electronics manufacturing hub. India’s Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme and similar manufacturing initiatives have already brought in several global electronics players to open or increase their Indian presence.
Samsung Expands ‘Make in India’ Commitment with Local Laptop Production in Greater Noida
For Samsung, local production of laptops has several benefits. It lessens reliance on imports, may decrease costs through local production, and puts the company in a better position to serve both the local and regional markets. Local production also enables companies to overcome supply chain disruptions and lessen logistics costs.
The expansion of the Greater Noida plant into laptop manufacturing is more than simply introducing another product segment. It shows that Samsung is confident in the manufacturing ecosystem and human resources of India. The factory has already established itself in some device segments and is naturally the right one to expand into laptop manufacturing.
Samsung’s entry into laptop production also coincides with the period when demand for personal computing hardware continues to be high in India. The work-from-home culture, growing digitization, and growing technology adoption across industries continue to fuel laptop sales in the country.
While Samsung has not released concrete production targets and timeline statistics about its laptop manufacturing, the step is indicative of the company’s vision to utilize its installed Indian plants for increased market reach. With its production base now extended from feature phones to laptops, Samsung is set to meet the diverse technology needs of India while possibly using the facility as a hub for export to neighboring markets.
This latest expansion supported Samsung’s pledge to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Make in India” policy and positions the company well to take advantage of India’s expanding technology market across various device segments.
