Nokia starts trial production at Chennai plant

Chennai: With the official opening of Nokia India''s plant slated for March 11, the company is in the process of testing, verifying the production line, recruiting people and training them. Nokia''s entry-level handset, the 1100, is being manufactured at the plant and by March this year the company would be ready to handle the higher volumes that it anticipates, said company officials.

The officials say the company began the manufacture of the basic handset 1100 to overcome all initial glitches.

The 1100 handset is one of the models that Nokia has designed and introduced with Indian customers in mind. Its features include a built-in flashlight. The company has recruited about 600 employees and has begun training them. By the end of this year the company plans to employ about 2,000 employees.

Nokia signed an agreement with the Tamil Nadu Government in April 2005 to set up a manufacturing plant at Sriperumbudur, about 50 km west of Chennai on a 210-acre plot. The facility has been designated a product-specific special economic zone. At that time, the State Government had said that the company would invest US$150mn (about Rs650 crore) in the plant, its 10th such facility across the world. The plant will manufacture GSM (Global System for Mobile Communication) handsets.