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Motherboard market heats up

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DQW Bureau
New Update

The fight is on with importers and local manufacturers vying with each other with the volume game in the motherboard market. Three years back, the Indian market was commanded by importers only. But today, the scenario has undergone a sea change, with local manufacturers getting aggressive. Importers and manufacturers see each other as prospective threat.

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Vintron Informatics Ltd, one of the Indian manufacturer, has doubled its motherboard manufacturing capacity to 500,000 by adding another assembly line at an investment of Rs 10 crore in last year. With this, the total throughput of Vintron is 1,350 boards per day totaling to 40,000 boards per month. Meanwhile, Cerebra Integrated Technologies Ltd unveiled its Surface Mount Technology (SMT) division, which will manufacture motherboards, graphic cards, memory modules, monitors and CD ROM drives. XO Infotech Ltd, the IT solution and electronics services provider and manufacturer of Motherboards, at the same time, is planning to pump in Rs 5 crore to set up its third SMT line in India. With the new SMT line, the company is planning to double its existing capacity of the plant to 90,000 from the current 45,000 per month.

Does these statistics mean that motherboard manufacturing has come of age in India? Will it be able to combat the cutthroat competition from the importers who have been dominating the market and was enjoying a much larger mindshare among the partners? 

Local manufacturers claim that they have an advantage in terms of regular supply of shipments. They say that logistics too are being taken care of. "One of the advantages of local manufacturing is that the logistics are very easy to handle and thus the cycle is very short. Dealers don't have to carry lot of inventory unlike importers", says Manish Agrawal, Director (Marketing), Vintron Informatics Ltd.

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The local manufacturers assert that the importers do not have necessary infrastructure and knowledge to provide the technical support. "There is no consistency in supply also", added Agrawal.

Importers, on the other hand, reiterate that putting up SMT line doesn't mean that the product is good. "It will still take long, before people get comfortable with indigenously manufactured motherboards. The key flaw with the local manufacturers is that they don't have an R&D department. They just import the readymade design and assemble it here", said AK Sapru, CEO, Jorjy International. Agrees Satish Sharma, CEO, Computer Force, "Motherboard manufacturing in India is a new concept. There is still a lot of infrastructure problems and lack of technical expertise here."

Manufacturers on the other hand feel that importers have an edge over them in terms of duty structure. This is due to the fact that duty on finished motherboard is lower than duty on its components. "This is a threat to not only motherboard manufacturers but the entire manufacturing industry in India", said Sanjay Shakdher, VP, XO Infotech Ltd. 

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Warranty is another issue which both, manufacturers and importers have to face. With the Indian consumer becoming more and more aware, he just cannot settle for less. Vendors are setting up service infrastructure especially to cater to the customers needs. Some importers have also extended their warranty period from one to two years now. "This is the first time that any motherboard importer is extending a warranty to two years. We make sure that we replace the defective piece with immediate effect", said Sapru. 

The questions remain as to whether the manufacturers would be able to meet consumers' expectations and whether they would pose a threat to motherboard importers.

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