Zetwerk Plans ₹1,000 Crore Investment for Electronics Manufacturing Expansion

Zetwerk, a company specializing in manufacturing services for various sectors, intends to invest ₹1,000 crore in expanding its operations, particularly in critical areas. The move comes at a time when global hardware demand is increasing, making India a favorable choice due to new policies.

According to Josh Foulger, the company’s president of electronics business, Zetwerk aims to judiciously expand into key sectors with this investment. Foulger, who previously served as the head of Bharat FIH, a part of Foxconn, believes that Zetwerk could potentially manufacture iPhones in India, seizing the opportunity presented by the growth in smartphone exports, particularly driven by Apple.

The company is eyeing the acquisition of the India operations of Pegatron, another iPhone manufacturer, indicating its ambition in the electronics segment.

Foulger highlights the potential for growth in the smartphone EMS (Electronics Manufacturing Services) sector, where there is room for more players. He mentions that while Foxconn’s Bharat FIH and Dixon Technologies are major players, there are opportunities for others as India aims to become a global export hub for mobile phones.

Zetwerk’s factories in the US and Mexico are poised to provide flexibility to global supply chains, especially considering India’s attractiveness as an alternative to China. Foulger sees the US market as a significant opportunity, particularly with potential changes in tariffs under the new US administration.

The company already manufactures millions of phones, hearables, and wearables for local brands and plans to scale up to serve international brands as well. It also intends to expand into manufacturing laptops and servers under the PLI scheme for IT hardware products, leveraging India’s growing emphasis on local manufacturing.

Additionally, Zetwerk plans to expand its offerings in the telecom equipment category, supplying printed circuit boards to enterprises participating in the PLI scheme for telecom. Foulger also suggests the implementation of a phased manufacturing programme (PMP) to encourage component manufacturing in India, similar to the strategy adopted for mobile phone assembly in 2017.