WeP sets up unit in Himachal Pradesh

The unit would manufacture products such as dot matrix printers, UPS systems

and networking components

The Rs 290 crore hardware major, WeP Peripherals Ltd-formerly known as

Wipro ePeripherals Ltd-is setting up a manufacturing facility cos-ting around

Rs 20 crore in Baddi, the industrial belt in Nalagarh district in Himachal

Pradesh. This will be the company's third manufa-cturing facility in the

country after Mysore in Karnataka and Hyderabad in Andhra Pradesh.

Spread over 12 acres in picturesque Baddi, this state-of-the-art

manufacturing faci-lity is expected to be fully ready in about 12 months-though

it will commence production in the next quarter. Employing around 300 people, it

would have a total capacity of manu-facturing close to one million products of

various types including dot matrix printers, UPS systems and networking

components.

The foundation stone of the facility was laid by Virbhadra Singh, the Chief

Minister of Himachal Pradesh, in the presence of Azim Premji, Chair-man, Wipro

Ltd. Congratula-ting WeP on setting up this manufacturing unit, Singh in his

address said, "It is a welcome addition for Hima-chal Pradesh and I hope

that it will encourage others also to come here. We have industry-friendly

policies and we promise to remove all hurdles faced by companies wanting to come

to Himachal."

Addressing the gathering of more than 200 people includ-ing WeP employees,

its channel partners and senior Himachal Government officials, Premji said,

"This is a beautiful part of our country. The state has hard working and a

dedicated set of people. Preservation of the state's beauty needs to be

maintained by encouraging non-polluting industries. IT sector is the right

choice, as not only it is non-polluting but also results in high employment

generation."

Commending WeP on this facility, Premji added, "Wipro is proud to give

birth to WeP, which has a very innovative business model. Seventy per-cent of

the company's sales come from products introdu-ced in the last three years. I

am sure that the quality bench-mark of this manufacturing facility will be equal

to the best in the world."

Thanking the Chief Minister for his support, Ram N Agarwal, MD and CEO, WeP,

said, "We are happy to have our facility at Himachal Pradesh, as the

progressive state Govern-ment policies towards manufa-cturing is very

encouraging. We started thinking about this project about one year back and

since then got extremely good support from all government departments and its

officials. It will be one of the best manufacturing facilities in Himachal and

the entire campus would be full of trees."

Added Ranbir Singh, GM (North Zone), WeP, and the man responsible for making

this facility possible, "WeP has over seven lakh customers for its

products, and this manu-facturing facility will increase our availability and

proximity with consumers. Products manufactured from this unit can be

conveniently reached to any location in the North within 24 hours."

Later on Premji praised the work done by some of the WeP people including

Ranbir by handing over mementos to them. The foundation stone laying ceremony

ended with the Chief Minister and Premji planting a sapling each at the campus.

Arun Thiagarajan, Chairman of WeP Peripherals was also present at the occasion.

CyberMedia News


Baddi/Nalagarh