WeP to set up manufacturing unit in Himachal

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

ePeripherals Ltd-is setting up a spanking new manufacturing facility costing

around Rs 20 crore in Baddi-the industrial belt in Nalagarh district in

Himachal Pradesh. This will be the company's third manufacturing facility in

the country after Mysore in Karnataka and Hyderabad in Andhra Pradesh.

Spread over 12 acres and located at a picturuous location, this

state-of-the-art manufacturing facility is expected to be fully ready in about

12 months time-though production is slated to commence within the next three

to four months. Employing around 300 people, it would have a total capacity of

manufacturing 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, Chairman, Wipro

Ltd. Congratulating WeP on setting up this manufacturing unit, Singh in his

address said, "It is a welcome addition for HP 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 including 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 way of encouraging non-polluting industries. IT sector is the

right choice for that 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 percent of the company's

sales come from products introduced in the last three years. I am sure that the

quality benchmark 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 Government policies towards manufacturing 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 manufacturing 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.

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