GX Group eyes new India unit, to invest Rs 100 crore

Netherlands-based fibre-to-the-home gear maker GX Group is looking to set up a new manufacturing facility in the country at an initial outlay of Rs 100-crore to export products worldwide, in line with Centre’s Atmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India) ambition.

“We are looking at a new manufacturing facility this financial year to export products, and spending about Rs 100-crore for land or building, and machineries,” Paritosh Prajapati, chief executive officer, GX Group told ETTelecom.

This will be the company’s second manufacturing unit in the country. In 2021, it had set up a plant in Haryana’s Manesar at a cost of close to Rs 125 crores, as a part of Dutch Good Growth Fund (DGGF) initiative.

The top executive further said that the company is closely evaluating options in states such as Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh on the basis of ecosystem maturity and availability of incentives.

The company said that it would manufacture flagship connectivity products such as Wi-Fi routers, access points, Gigabit Passive Optical Network (GPON) and XGS PON, and revamp its export strategy.

“This will not only be for the Indian market but for the global market including Europe. We want to have completely made in India products, and along with that, we are entering the African market.” Prajapati said.

The European broadband equipment maker is also among the 42 companies qualified for the production linked incentive (PLI) scheme by the Indian government.

Last year, the multinational received nearly Rs 200 crores of funding from the Netherlands government-backed Investment International for the expansion of manufacturing operations in India.

“We are building the whole ecosystem, and above all, we are unique in that because we control the product end-to-end, from complete design to manufacturing.”

The top executive further said that the company also builds complete software locally, and IP and design rights are filed in India. “If you look, a trusted vendor, when we applied for it, we were the first one to get it because we have followed the regulation.”

The company, however, feels that on the back of continued investments within the country, and as a trusted vendor, it should be allowed fair access in the domestic market.

The public sector business contributes to 10% of the company’s overall revenues in India.

The multinational supplies broadband gear to India’s Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea’s You Broadband, and state-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL).

In the European market, GX Group provides telecom equipment to KPN, Vodafone, and T-Mobile.