Lenovo expands local manufacturing capacity to meet rising customer demand

IT hardware manufacturing firm Lenovo is significantly expanding its local manufacturing portfolio in India, with a range of initiatives that will help meet increasing customer demand, said the company. The company’s current ready capacity is 2 million across its PC products and 0.5 million in tablet.

To begin with the company’s in-house PC manufacturing plant, in Puducherry, has been expanded to include a third manufacturing line. Meanwhile, the company has also launched local manufacturing of its tablet computers, in partnership with Wingtech Technology, at a plant in Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh. In addition, smartphones for Motorola (a Lenovo group company) are now locally manufactured in partnership with Dixon Technologies at Noida, Uttar Pradesh. 

“In line with our sincere commitment to manufacture locally, the expansion of our manufacturing capabilities in India will help us offer innovative devices of highest quality, produced here and rapidly brought to market. With our operations, we aim to generate employment and skill building opportunities, and to bring our advanced, sustainable manufacturing technologies to India,” - said Shailendra Katyal, Managing Director, Lenovo India. 

At present 15-20 per cent of demand in India is catered through local manufacturing, which the company is targeting to increase to 30-35 per cent. The plan is to further expand this capacity building to 100 per cent in the country across products. For instance, Motorola products in India are 100 per cent manufactured in the country.

According to IDC, the total PC market size in India is expected to rise to more than 15 million units by 2022, compared to 10 million units in 2020. Total revenue for all Lenovo Group businesses in India was approximately $462 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2021, representing year-on-year growth of 31.3 percent. 

These initiatives strengthen Lenovo’s commitment to the Government's vision of “AtmaNirbhar Bharat”. They also form part of Lenovo’s global manufacturing and supply chain strategy that serves customers in 180 markets from 30+ manufacturing sites around the world – including Argentina, Brazil, China, Germany, Hungary, India, Japan, Mexico, and the USA.

In Tirupati, Lenovo recently began manufacturing tablet computers with its global partner Wingtech. Production began with a small number of models and has expanded quickly in the first few months. The facility now produces a broad range of Lenovo tablets that meet the needs of consumers, educators, and students, as well as those for specialized functions such as retail, manufacturing, and healthcare.

The Lenovo Puducherry plant, which has been operational since 1999, had previously been expanded to include Lenovo’s popular IdeaPad notebook computers from its consumer portfolio. Now, with the addition of a third production line, the facility has begun manufacturing products across Lenovo’s full consumer and commercial range, including desktops, notebooks, and workstations. This represents a 100% capacity increase over the previous year.

Lenovo has invested significantly in automating and digitizing the facility, to ensure an efficient, seamless manufacturing process. There is also a common testing area for all products and common packaging lines. With this expansion, every product will now have its own configuration and test methodology.

Motorola, a Lenovo group company, was one of the first companies to commit to the PLI (Production Linked Incentive) program launched by the Government of India. It has partnered with Dixon to manufacture nearly 100% of its smartphones for customers in India and has also begun exporting to selected nearby markets. 

To support these local manufacturing initiatives, Lenovo has also invested in employment and skill building. Today, more than 1,500 direct and indirect employees work across these three manufacturing plants. All production staff are trained in manufacturing skills and provided with on-the-job training under the guidance of senior staff members. Additionally, official certifications can be attained through the Motorola Skills Academy or partner organizations such as TechnoServe.