Salcomp believes that fast charging is the trend powering the mobile world forward

As a global leader in mobile phone and tablet chargers and adapters, Salcomp is very active in the space, providing fast charging solutions to its customers

By Baishakhi Dutta

Salcomp is a 40-year-old company headquartered in Finland and is a leader in the power supply industry. The company set up its facility in Chennai in 2007, within the Nokia SEZ, as one of Nokia’s key suppliers as well as to address the needs of other OEMs, both domestic and from the global market. In addition to the Chennai unit, Salcomp also operates a DTA (Domestic Tariff Area) unit in Noida, which was opened in 2016.

Manufacturing facility at a glance
Salcomp’s strengths comprise high quality design, flexible production systems and the ability to deliver very large volumes globally. It can scale up new capacities within a very short period of time. In addition, with its global manufacturing footprint and highly efficient logistics, it can provide truly global service.

Products manufactured
Salcomp manufactures power supplies (chargers and adapters for mobile phones, other handheld devices, notebooks and set-top boxes). Currently, it also produces battery packs and data cables for OEMs in the mobile space.

Manufacturing capacity
The annual capacity of its three charger manufacturing plants spread across the world is over 550 million pieces. In India, the combined capacity of Salcomp’s two plants at Chennai and Noida is about 150 million pieces/annum.

Machines used at the facility
To a relatively large extent, Salcomp uses automated machines in the PCBA assembly process, and a mixture of semi-automation and manual work in the final assembly process. The firm continues to invest considerable sums in automation every year as products are getting more complex and, therefore, there is a necessity for automation in critical processes.

Capital expenditure
Salcomp has made significant investments in India during the last 10 years, and plans to make even higher investments in the coming years.

Focus on quality
Salcomp’s R&D focuses on improving the cost and energy-efficiency of power adapters and chargers. The R&D work involves exploring the future of charging technologies and the development of alternative solutions, such as wireless charging. The company has a well equipped quality and in-house testing lab. Apart from this, Salcomp runs very sophisticated set-ups at its R&D facilities at China, Finland and Taiwan.

“Salcomp’s physical exports have drastically increased, and more than 80% of production volume is physically exported out of India.”

Sasikumar Gendham, CEO, Salcomp Manufacturing India Private Limited

Salcomp’s quality principles

• To ensure customer satisfaction by supplying competitive products and services, on time.
• To meet customer requirements and to comply with relevant legislation and regulations.
• Aim for better internal relationships between business functions and processes. Continuous quality improvement is the responsibility of every Salcomp employee.
• As part of supply chain management, the company’s partners play a significant role. Salcomp expects them to meet its requirements and further develop their own quality assurance system.
• To reach these goals, the company is continuously developing its products, business processes and organisational structure.
• It is committed to implementing this quality policy in all its activities.

Success story
Since its inception in India, Salcomp has been focusing on diversifying its customer base. At the same time, it has also focused on domestic sourcing. Today, over 45 per cent of the company’s materials are sourced from India; the rest of the sourcing expenditure is largely on electronic components, which are imported.

Certifications achieved
Salcomp has achieved ISO 9001, ISO 14001 certification. The company ensures that it meets all the safety and international standards required by its customers, and adheres to environment related rules.

Take on ‘Make In India’
The company’s management believes that this is indeed a great initiative by the Indian government, since an economy can prosper only when there are sufficient manufacturing activities taking place. This initiative has led to several companies setting up facilities in India and providing affordable products to the local market, while offering a high level of employment. So far, the developments have been very encouraging and the company truly hopes that this momentum will continue.

Expansion plans
Salcomp plans to expand in India by setting up an additional facility to cater to the growing domestic market. This facility shall be operational by the end of the first half of 2017.