After Fire At Andhra Plant, Apple Vendor Foxlink To Set Up New Unit In Tamil Nadu

A year after a serious fire incident at its Andhra Pradesh facility, Apple vendor and Foxconn affiliate Foxlink is reportedly building a new manufacturing unit near Chennai.

As per Economic Times, the new plant at Oragadam is part of the company’s “renewed expansion plan” in India after the devastating fire in February last year. The new unit will reportedly be closer to Foxconn’s existing facility at Sriperumbudur in Chennai. 

“They are setting up a plant in Oragadam, which is also where Foxconn’s plant is, but not in the same premises… They are looking to begin production soon and are considering expanding their portfolio of products,” the report quoted a person familiar with the development as saying. 

As per the report, the move to build a new plant follows difficulties in sustaining operations at Foxlink’s Andhra Pradesh facility owing to manpower and space-related issues. 

It is pertinent to note that the company’s website shows that it has acquired land in Noida and is planning a new business venture in Chennai. 

Foxlink is a Taiwanese original equipment manufacturer (OEM) that makes cables, connectors, power management devices, and battery packs for consumer electronics companies, including Apple. The company commenced manufacturing cable and connectors in India in late 2020 at its Tirupati plant. 

However, in February last year, a major fire ripped through the unit which gutted half of the building and reportedly damaged half of the machinery at the plant. The damages at the time were pegged at INR 100 Cr, which forced the Apple vendor to temporarily stop production at the plant post the incident. 

With this, Foxlink has become the latest Foxconn affiliate and Apple vendor to ramp up its presence in the country and scale up offerings. In March this year, Foxconn subsidiary Rayprus Technologies was said to be looking to venture into the Indian market with a facility in Bengaluru.

Earlier this year, Foxconn reportedly called for bids for building an INR 1,200 Cr chip assembly and testing facility in India with the HCL Group. Last year, it also invested $2.7 Bn in the factory and assorted facilities in Bengaluru to assemble 20 Mn smartphones annually.

The move comes at a time when Apple is increasing its production in India as it looks to reduce its dependence on China amid geopolitical tensions between the US and China. Back home in India, Apple’s major manufacturers including Foxconn and Pegatron have ramped up production in the country on the back of production-linked-incentives offered by the Centre. 

Notably, Tata Group has emerged as the tech major’s third biggest vendor in India. The conglomerate acquired and took over Wistron’s operations in India last year and plans to ramp up production of iPhone parts in the country. 

Overall, Apple reportedly assembled $14 Bn worth of iPhones in India in the fiscal year 2023-24 (FY24), manufacturing around 14% of its flagship devices in India.

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