Salcomp, the largest contract manufacturer of chargers and adaptors for smartphones, including iPhones, announced on September 22 that it will make chargers for electric two-wheelers and three-wheelers, positioning itself to become a significant player in India.
Despite the fact that the company has previously shipped some volume of four-wheeler chargers from its Chennai plant to the US market, this is the first time it has decided to take a serious plunge into making chargers for the Indian market. It will also consider servicing global markets in the future.
Salcomp collaborated with Flowtrik
The company has partnered with Flowtrik, an IIT Madras Incubation Cell (IITMIC) incubated startup, to get designs for the chargers. Salcomp will be the exclusive manufacturing (sourcing) and business development partner for Flowtrik, which designs chargers for advanced batteries such as Li-ion, advanced lead acid, and other alternate batteries used in EVs, as part of the partnership.
Sasikumar Gendham, MD of Salcomp India, said, “Salcomp aims to play a significant role in the EV ecosystem not only for India, but also rest of the world. With capabilities of being the No. 1 manufacturer of chargers and adaptors for smart phones and other handheld devices from the state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities in India, combined with our capabilities on precision metal parts, moulding and high reliability electronics assembly, we would like to provide highest quality and reliable products at very competitive pricing to spur the EV revolution. This partnership with Flowtrik will augment us to be a significant player in the EV space.”
Flowtrik and Salcomp will collaborate from product identification to research and development, design, product qualification, and global production. Flowtrik will also continue to develop new charger products in consultation with Salcomp in response to market demands.
Gendham said, “There are synergies with our existing manufacturing facilities – like the moulding machines and other infrastructure. There is a big opportunity for vertical integration. Lot of electronics are common. We source a huge amount of raw materials for making mobile phone chargers and that economies of scale can be leveraged for making the EV chargers.”
Salcomp has been present in India for over 15 years and has world-class manufacturing operations that produce the highest quality and reliable products. Salcomp’s global capabilities are focused on high-volume manufacturing, sourcing, and vertical integration. The collaboration represents a significant step forward in the advancement of not only exceptional R&D in India, but also manufacturing capabilities for India and the global market.
According to Anitha Dhianeshwer, co-founder of Flowtrik, the company team will be around 20 people and will focus on R&D for existing and new products manufactured by Salcomp.
