The Tata Group<\/a> is looking to step up its electronics play and could be firming up plans to enter the semiconductor segment. It is currently scouting for land near its electronics manufacturing facility in Tamil Nadu’s Krishnagiri district, according to several people aware of the development.
The conglomerate could either broaden the scope of its existing mobile components manufacturing unit there or set up an outsourced semiconductor assembly & test (OSAT) unit, these people added.
This planned expansion by Tata Electronics<\/a>, which was set up as a greenfield venture in 2020, comes on the heels of the Tata<\/a> Group’s ongoing acquisition of Taiwanese contract manufacturer Wistron<\/a>’s iPhone manufacturing plant in neighbouring Karnataka’s Kolar district, as reported by ET on May 22.
Assembly Plans
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Sources in the know said the Tatas are also looking for land in another location within Tamil Nadu, in the western district of Coimbatore.
“Now that they are (Tata Group) taking over the Wistron plant, they could even be getting into assembly as well but at the moment we are not sure if they will do more components manufacturing or assembly in Tamil Nadu,” said one person cited above.
The Tata Group<\/a> is looking to step up its electronics play and could be firming up plans to enter the semiconductor segment. It is currently scouting for land near its electronics manufacturing facility in Tamil Nadu’s Krishnagiri district, according to several people aware of the development.
The conglomerate could either broaden the scope of its existing mobile components manufacturing unit there or set up an outsourced semiconductor assembly & test (OSAT) unit, these people added.
This planned expansion by Tata Electronics<\/a>, which was set up as a greenfield venture in 2020, comes on the heels of the Tata<\/a> Group’s ongoing acquisition of Taiwanese contract manufacturer Wistron<\/a>’s iPhone manufacturing plant in neighbouring Karnataka’s Kolar district, as reported by ET on May 22.
Assembly Plans
<\/strong>
Sources in the know said the Tatas are also looking for land in another location within Tamil Nadu, in the western district of Coimbatore.
“Now that they are (Tata Group) taking over the Wistron plant, they could even be getting into assembly as well but at the moment we are not sure if they will do more components manufacturing or assembly in Tamil Nadu,” said one person cited above.
Tata Electronics, a subsidiary of the Tata Group, signed a memorandum of understanding with the Tamil Nadu government in 2021 to set up the phone component making unit with an investment of Rs 4,684 crore and is expected to employ more than 18,000 people at the plant.
“They have identified (more) land close to this facility,” a person close to the developments told ET.
Tata Electronics did not respond to ET's request for comments till press time.
If successful, Tata Electronics’ expansion plans will see a third major mobile and allied component manufacturing facility coming up in Tamil Nadu. Taiwan’s Foxconn and Pegatron<\/a> both have facilities in the state.
Semiconductor Ambitions
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Experts are of the view that Tata Electronics has already directly or indirectly made its ambitions clear in getting in key areas of the end-to-end semiconductor and electronics industry.
“(It makes) telecom equipment through Tejas, semiconductor design through Saankhya, (has) chip fab and chip packaging plans to be announced at some point, non-electronic components for iPhone already made in Krishnagiri, plans iPhone assembly by acquiring Wistron's India business,” said semiconductor industry veteran Arun Mampazhy.
Earlier in April, the Tata Group announced the appointment of Intel veteran Randhir Thakur as the chief executive officer of Tata Electronics. Thakur, who was the head of Intel Foundry Services, is likely to lead the company’s efforts to get into semiconductor chips fabrication, packaging and manufacturing, sources said.
“The Tata Group is likely to take it slow and understand the market before taking the plunge. We have had some meetings with them, and they have apprised us of some basic plans they have in mind,” a senior official from the ministry of electronics and information technology said.
According to Mampazhy in the next few years or perhaps up to the end of this decade, one can expect to see pieces of the puzzle unfold slowly with Tata Electronics having a “non-negligible presence” in various aspects of semiconductor and electronics manufacturing supply chain globally.
The appointment of Thakur, the MeitY official said, showed that the Tata Group was serious about its plans to get into semiconductor manufacturing.
“The roadmap for Tata Electronics is exciting and Thakur's in-depth knowledge and multi-functional experience will bode well for the company. I am confident that under his leadership, Tata Electronics will lead India to take its rightful position in the global semiconductor and precision manufacturing industry,” Tata Sons<\/a> chairman N Chandrasekaran<\/a> said in a statement at the time.
Tata Electronics is the only homegrown company that has been shortlisted by Apple to be its vendor as it looks to diversify its manufacturing away from China. Apple has outsourced the manufacturing of iPhone enclosures to Tata Electronics.
Tata Electronics was founded with expertise in manufacturing precision components and has a roadmap that extends to semiconductor fabrication and packaging segments.
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