Cisco on Friday inaugurated its first manufacturing facility in India at Chennai, setting into motion a multi-year investment plan, as the network equipment maker pledged its commitment to building production capabilities in the country.

With this strategic investment, the company will generate more than USD 1.3 billion annually in combined exports and domestic production, it said adding that the facility is expected to create 1,200 jobs in Tamil Nadu.

Cisco has partnered with Flex to build and scale the manufacturing facility in Chennai, which will initially focus on Cisco's Network Convergence System (NCS) 540 Series of routers.

Cisco said "this state-of-the-art site will produce a range of Cisco's best-in-class routing and switching products to meet the rapidly-growing technology needs of organisations in India and around the world." The Chennai-based manufacturing facility was inaugurated by Union Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, along with Chuck Robbins, Chair and CEO of Cisco; Daisy Chittilapilly, President, Cisco India and SAARC as well as state and local government officials.

This opening marks an important expansion milestone in Cisco's global manufacturing footprint, a Cisco release said.

"Cisco has collaborated with Flex to successfully build the Chennai site and bring advanced telecom technology that can help connect citizens in India and globally. This is the next milestone in Cisco and Flex's longstanding 25-year partnership to ramp up manufacturing across the globe with speed, resilience, and sustainable practices," it said.

The facility, which will initially focus on Cisco's NCS 540 Series of routers, represents the first phase of the company's multi-year investment plan.

"Significant innovation and technical advancements are planned in the next phase including printed circuit board assembly components with several layers; products requiring, at times, thousands of individual components; and industrial-grade products that are built to endure severe environmental conditions," Cisco said.

With this, Cisco is broadening its technical manufacturing capabilities to enable additional customers and market segments.

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