Dell to start making PCs, laptops in India

NEW DELHI: Taking its total headcount in India to 20,000, global PC maker Dell will start manufacturing all its products including desktops, laptops and computer peripherals in the country by the first half of 2007.

Besides, the company will invest $150 million this year for its various global initiatives including India. "We will manufacture all our products in our facility in Chennai in the first half of 2007 for the domestic market. Initially, we will start manufacturing desktops, which contribute 70% of our revenues and then we would add new products to our portfolio,"Dell vice president (customer experience and support) Dick Hunter said.

He said Dell was investing $150 million globally in this fiscal, in its customer care support centres. However, he declined to give details as to how much of this investment would come to India.

Dell currently employs about 13,000 people in India and in the next couple of years is expected to take the total number of its employees to 20,000.

To reach out to customers across the world with affordable technology, Dell recently opened its new customer contact centre in Gurgaon. The 3,00,000 square-foot centre employs 800 people and the number would increase to 1,000 by the end of this year. The centre has a total capacity of 3,000 employees.

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