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Smartphone manufacturing services company Optiemus Infracom on Friday announced a joint venture with Corning International Corporation, the global supplier of smartphone glass, to set up India's first high-quality finished smartphone cover glass manufacturing facility.
As part of the joint venture, the companies plan to set up "a world-class manufacturing facility" in India, powered by cutting-edge technologies and processes, the company said.
Founded in 1993, Optiemus Infracom has been managing, distributing, manufacturing, and retailing mobile brands and other telecommunication products in India. Major electronics and smartphone brands like Oppo, OnePlus, LG, HTC, and Jio are among the customers of Optiemus.
The company said the new collaboration will pave the way for the manufacturing of "Made in India" finished cover glass parts to be used in mobile consumer electronic devices and other cover glass applications.
Corning specialises in specialty glass, ceramics, and related materials and technologies. The company currently manufactures Gorilla Glass in the United States, Japan, and Taiwan.
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"Embarking on this new journey, we intend to emerge as one of the top manufacturers of finished cover glass parts for use in mobile consumer electronic devices in the next five years. Our collective expertise in innovation, design, and manufacturing will provide holistic solutions for the brands," said Ashok Kumar Gupta, chairman of Optiemus Infracom Limited.
Though India has emerged as the world's second-largest smartphone exporter, increasing local value addition and component ecosystem has remained a challenge. The overall local value addition remains at around 15 per cent, trailing behind countries like Brazil (20–22 per cent), Vietnam (30–33 per cent), and China (50–52 per cent).
Mobile phone exports crossed the Rs 30,000 crore mark during the April-June quarter, registering an over 100 per cent growth over the year-ago period. In FY23, mobile phone exports surpassed Rs 90,000 crore, an increase of 100 per cent from Rs 45,000 crore in FY22.
