Tamil Nadu CM M K Stalin signing MoUs with Jabil, Rockwell Automation and Autodesk.
Credit: X/@mkstalin
Chennai: Marking the entry of a sixth key contract manufacturer of Apple Inc into Tamil Nadu, Florida-headquartered Jabil Inc has committed to an investment of Rs 2,000 crore in an electronics making unit in Tiruchirapalli.
A memorandum of understanding was signed on Tuesday morning (India time) at Chicago, between Matt Crowley, Executive Vice President, Jabil, and V Vishnu, MD & CEO, Guidance in the presence of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin.
Jabil, which is also a supplier to Cisco, HP and Dell, is yet to reveal which of its clients it will be serving from the proposed plant. “It is still being worked out. It will be one of the four companies,” a source in the know told DH, expressing hope that Jabil will manufacture for Apple from Trichy. The unit is expected to create 5,000 jobs.
Jabil, one of the leading electronics manufacturing services (EMS) firms and a Fortune 500 company which manufactures iPods for Apple Inc, has plants in China, Mexico, Malaysia, Singapore, US and in Pune.
“The manufacturing facility of Jabil will come up at the SIPCOT Industrial Park in Manaparai, about 45 km from Tiruchirapalli. Details regarding extent of the land for the plant are being discussed by both sides,” the source informed.
Jabil’s entry into Tiruchirapalli is a major win for the Tamil Nadu government, which has been persevering to diversify electronics manufacturing beyond Chennai and infuse growth into all regions of the state. Besides Chennai, the state government has positioned Hosur as an electronics hub with the entry of home-grown Tata Electronics and Taiwan’s Delta Electronics. With Jabil coming in Tiruchirapalli will join the league.
Another source said the fresh investment will transform Tiruchirapalli and create a new electronics cluster. “This is the first time that a major EMS firm is setting its shop outside Chennai,” the source added.
For Tamil Nadu, should Jabil choose to produce Apple products in the new unit, it will be the sixth supplier to Cupertino-based electronics major, after Foxconn, Pegatron, Tata Electronics, Salcomp, Corning and Luxshare.
Meanwhile, Rockwell Automation also signed a MoU with the Tamil Nadu delegation to invest Rs 666 crore to expand its electronics manufacturing unit in Kanchipuram. Tamil Nadu in 2023 emerged as the numero uno state in the export of electronic goods and continues to hold the position by achieving a record-breaking $ 9.56 billion in electronics exports in 2023-2024 fiscal.