Dixon Technologies, one of the rare success stories of India in electronics manufacturing, said it has started making fully automatic washing machines.
The appliances are being made for BSH Household Appliances Private Ltd, the local unit of the global giant that owns brands such as Bosch. Manufacturing has been started at Dixon’s Tirupati factory.
Before this, the company was making semi automatic washing machines, for clients such as Voltas Beko.
“Dixon always had this vision to commence manufacturing of Fully Automatic Washing Machine and we are glad to partner with BSH in this space,” the Indian company said today.
Interestingly, the company had nine months ago said it was keen to start move into the fully automatic segment, diversifying from semi-automatic washing machines.
Appliance makers tend to manufacture their cutting edge and most advanced products in-house, while contracting out production for other, less-cutting-edge products.
To convince brands to come onboard, Dixon has been investing own designs that can be manufactured for clients quickly, without waiting for the clients to come up with their own designs and transfer them.
Speaking in February, Dixon’s CEO Atul Lall had said that he also hoped to start exporting fully automatic washing machines in 2022.
However, it is not clear whether the deal with BSH involves any export dimension or not.
Bosch washing machines have substantial brand recall in the premium category in India, largely due to the German branding and a reputation for quality.
Dixon, on its part, has been trying hard to emerge as an alternative to Chinese players in the field of contract manufacturing, and has been approaching international brands with proposals to take over part of their global production operations, most of which is today located in East and South East Asia.