Bengaluru, Aug 5 (IANS): In a fillip to the ‘Make in India’ initiative, contract manufacturing company Zetwerk on Monday made it official to partner with Bengaluru-based electronics manufacturing services firm, Smile Electronics, to launch three factories for IT hardware production in the country.

Located near Bengaluru, the Devanahalli factory has fully automated production lines equipped for assembling, testing, and packing desktops, laptops, energy metres and remote controls.

The other two factories will come up in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.

“This collaboration is further strengthened by Acer India's commitment to the 'Make in India' initiative, emphasising the importance of local manufacturing and innovation,” said Harish Kohli, Managing Director of Acer India who inaugurated the Devanahalli factory.

Zetwerk has committed to invest Rs 1,000 crore to build Electronics System Design and Manufacturing (ESDM) capabilities in India.

The company said that cutting-edge technology like automated screen-printing, placement and re?ow machines ensure efficient production, with the ability to produce 0.75 million components per hour.

Mukesh Gupta, Chairman of Smile Electronics, said their 750 skilled employees across diverse industries manage a well-rounded portfolio, catering to both low-mix, high-volume and high-mix, low-volume production needs.

Smile is a recipient of the government's IT hardware Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes 1.0 and 2.0.

“This partnership is a testament to the conducive business environment fostered by the government's progressive policies and initiatives," said Rahul Sharma, Co-founder, Zetwerk.

Zetwerk has its own four factories in north India to cater to the demand for mobile phones, telecom devices, smart meters, television and display devices, and hearables and wearables.

Josh Foulger, President of Zetwerk Electronics, said that additionally, Smile will be strengthened in key sectors like aerospace and defence, automotive and consumer electronics, “areas where Zetwerk already has a well-established market position”.