Dell plans Chennai plant expansion.

Computer-maker Dell plans to expand capacity at its manufacturing plant in Sriperumbudur near Chennai to meet the increasing demand for personal computers, according to P Krishnakumar, Vice-President and General Manager, Consumer and Small Business, Dell India.

“We are in discussion with the government for the capacity expansion. We cannot share details now,” he told newspersons via a video-conference from Bengaluru, while discussing the findings of an all-India survey on PC usage trends.

The plant can now make three million PCs a year, including for exports.

Last December, company officials met Telecom and IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and expressed interest in expanding their Sriperumbudur plant.

Dell has invested $30 million in the Sriperumbudur facility.

According to research firm IDC India, India PC shipments for December quarter 2014 was 2.3 million units, which is a quarter-on-quarter drop of 14.6 per cent over third quarter 2014 and a year-on-year growth of 13.3 per cent over fourth quarter 2013.

Dell outstripped the industry average as it gained around 9 per cent year-on-year to record a 22.1 per cent market share in 2014 in the PC business. Dell’s investments towards expanding channel strength continue to swell, supported by both distribution and partner led go to markets. In addition, its growth in the tier-2 and -3 cities is a welcome sign for increasing overall PC penetration, said IDC in its report released in April.

The survey done by Greyhound Research for Dell validated the ongoing execution of Dell’s strategy across tier-1 to tier-5 markets that aims to building awareness on PC usage among the next generation of users. The survey showed that students and youth are leading the march towards PC adoption, and the growth of PC market will come from smaller cities and towns, said Krishnakumar.

The Dell survey was done across 40 locations with 6,000 respondents that included students, college goers, young workforce and parents, said Sanchit Vir Gogia, Chief Analyst and CEO, Greyhound Research.

HBL