Bharti

Bharti Teletech's Ludhiana Facility Rolls Out Its 20 Millionth Telephone

• ● Becomes the first manufacturing facility in India to achieve the landmark
• ● The facility manufactured a record 3 million telephone instruments in FY 06-07
• ● Compares with Chinese benchmark on the productivity front
• ● Plans to manufacture its 30 millionth phone by 2010

New Delhi, July 23, 2007: Bharti Teletech, one of the largest manufacturers of telephone instruments in the world, today announced that its manufacturing facility in Ludhiana has achieved the distinction of becoming the first facility in India to manufacture and despatch over 20 million telephones. The consignment carrying 20 millionth phone was flagged off by Mr. Rakesh Bharti Mittal, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, Bharti Teletech.

On the occasion, Mr. Rakesh Bharti Mittal said, “What started as a small manufacturing unit way back in the year 1987 has today become a world-class manufacturing center, surpassing even the Chinese benchmarks in productivity levels. This achievement is a tribute to our commitment to the highest standard of quality and innovation at Bharti Teletech. A wide range of world-class products from Bharti Teletech have delighted customers in over thirty countries across five continents.”

The Company’s Ludhiana unit, which manufactures telephone instruments under both Beetel and GE brands, has set new benchmarks in productivity. During the last financial year, the facility manufactured and dispatched a record 3 million phones. Apart from catering to the domestic market, telephones manufactured at this the facility are being exported to 30 countries across the globe.

While the facility achieved the first 10 million telephones manufacturing landmark in 16 years, it manufactured the next 10 million telephone units in just over 4 years. The Company plans to enhance the productivity at the facility even further and is targeting to despatch the 30 millionth telephone by 2010.

The ISO 9000 state-of-the-art Ludhiana plant, which has a capacity of 3 million telephones, houses a calibration & reliability lab, an incoming component control lab and a paint shop. The facility has a component insertion capacity of 14,300 components per shift and produces a record 42 phones per person, which compares with Chinese benchmark. The three-stage production section is divided into three parts - the plastic & general engineering section, the printer circuit board assembly section and the final assembly section. The facility boasts of 18 injection-moulding machines for making plastic parts. An in-house Centre for Excellence with industrial and engineering design capability and equipped with facility for product reliability and life tests ensures a quality standard that compares with the best, internationally.

Today, Bharti Teletech commands a market share of about 60% in the domestic market and offers the widest portfolio of products with over 45 models across the price range of Rs. 295/- to Rs. 3795/-. The company has recently been awarded the ‘Excellence in Manufacturing Award’ by Telecom Equipment Manufacturers' Association (TEMA).

About Bharti Teletech

Bharti Teletech is India’s leading telecom & an allied product company and is one of the largest manufacturers of landline telephones in the globe. Established in 1985, Bharti Teletech is a subsidiary of India’s leading integrated telecommunications group, Bharti Enterprises. The company’s manufacturing operations are spread across two ISO-9000 certified plants in Goa and Ludhiana with an installed capacity of 6 million telephone units annually upgradeable to 10 mn units.

Bharti Teletech markets a comprehensive basket of customer premise equipments, comprising of over 45 models spanning basic, feature-rich and cordless segments under the Beetel brand. Bharti Teletech commands a market share of 48% in the retail market, 60% in the tender market (BSNL/MTNL) & 94% in the private service provider segments. Bharti Teletech currently exports to 30 countries across five continents.

Bharti Teletech has tied up with Thomson Asia for manufacturing and marketing of GE phones. It has also entered into an alliance with Motorola for nationwide distribution of their complete range of mobile phones and accessories. The company has recently entered into a strategic partnership with Polycom, the world’s leading provider of unified collaborative communications solutions, for distribution of Polycom’s voice & video conferencing solutions. Besides fixed line and mobile phones, the company also markets Set Top Boxes, Modems, Fixed Cellular Phones and Fixed Cellular and Wireless Terminals.