Patton Electronics to set up manufacturing unit

Chennai: Patton Electronics Pvt Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Patton Electronics (USA), intends to produce a range of products for telecom networks. It proposes to set up the manufacturing unit near Chennai.

At a press conference, officials of Patton said that, the company would initially invest $1 million in building a distributor network that will sell the Patton products imported from the US. Actually, Patton has been selling its products in India through a few distributors, including through a group company Microsense (India).

The products span a large range, catering to applications such as network access, voice-over-internet and connectivity. Some of them are IP WAN routers, universal rack systems, network termination devices, multiplexers and modems.

But now, Patton wants to set up its own distribution network, subsuming Microsense into it. At present, its India sales amount to around $3 million, but Mr S. Kailasanathan, Chairman, Patton-India, expects sales to rise to $50 million (Rs 200 crore), in three years.

Mr Robert Patton, Director, Patton (USA), said that investments in manufacturing will happen gradually, in tandem with sales. He said that the company would invest around $3 million (Rs 12 crore) over the next 18 months to set up an assembly and testing unit near Chennai. He expects that over time, Patton would invest at least $10 million (Rs 40 crore), in India.

The India plant would also manufacture products for global sales, Mr Burt Patton, President and Co-Founder of Patton, said at the press conference.

Mr Andreas Danuser, Director, Patton-India, said that the company’s products would work with legacy networks of a company to connect with modern networks outside. For example: today, in India, it is not allowed to call a phone from a computer, but it is expected that it would be allowed in future. Patton’s devices would help make such upgrades.