The Chairman and CEO of electronics major Foxconn, Young Liu, along with Telangana’s Minister for IT and Industries, K.T. Rama Rao, inaugurated T-Works, India’s largest hardware prototyping centre, here on Thursday.
The state-of-the-art facility is expected to accelerate India’s journey towards becoming a leader in product innovation. The 78,000 sq ft building was unveiled in a unique way via a spectacular curtain drop (called a ‘kabuki’ drop).
The inaugural event was attended by more than 1,000 people, including CEOs and founders of major companies, entrepreneurs, and artists and hobbyists from across the world.
A guided tour of the facility was arranged for the attendees showcasing state-of-the-art equipment, tools, prototypes and products made using different machinery at T-Works. The laser show and live performance by Motherjane added to the excitement of the inaugural event.
Speaking on the occasion, Rama Rao said that T-Works has developed significant products, including ventilators, electric vehicles, and agricultural products in collaboration with rural innovators using state-of-the-art equipment.
“This is a testament to the kind of product innovation and design thinking that is bound to happen at this world-class facility,” he said.
The minister also talked about the unwavering power of collaboration between countries like India and Taiwan, the headquarters of Foxconn.
“IT for me not only stands for information technology, but it represents India and Taiwan. With India’s software prowess and Taiwan’s hardware expertise, we can lead an industrial revolution and enable youngsters to come out with world-class products,” he said.
Young Liu said that T-Works as a concept is incredible.
“People can do so many things with such a facility. I am impressed by the speed with which this world-class facility has been built. I am amazed by the kind of development that has happened in Telangana in the last seven years,” he said.
Further emphasising the essence of collaboration, the Foxconn Chairman committed to partner with T-Works by donating an SMT (surface mount technology) line, used for assembling high-end electronics circuit boards.
Phase 1 of the 78,000 sq ft facility is located on a 4.79-acre campus providing over 200 industry-grade tools worth Rs 11.5 crore. This is expected to grow by 10 times over the next 12 months.
Sujai Karmapur, CEO, T-Works, said that T-Works is a foundational step in the scheme of an industrial revolution which is a giant leap for the entrepreneurs and manufacturers.
“It’s not just the building and the equipment, it’s the know-how that comes with the 60-member strong team. Collaboration among various disciplines is the value that we bring at T-Works. T-Works today comes with equipment worth Rs 11.5 crore ($1.3 million), which shall become Rs 110 crore ($1 million) by end of the year. We are open to anyone and everyone who wants to make and innovate. Innovators can come from anywhere, from startups, from MSMEs, from large corporations, schools, colleges, and rural India,” Karmapur said.
