Thursday, July 03, 2014: Simmtronics plans to pump $5 Million investment to manufacture set top boxes (STBs) under its own domestic name. “We have been manufacturing STB’s for many DTH companies but now we have decided to make it under our own brand. Leading cable services have approached us” Indrajit Sabharwal, managing director, Simmtronics was quoted as saying.
Indrajit also informed PTI that “the company has manufacturing plant in excise duty-free zone which gives us the advantage to manufacture STB’s 10 to 12 per cent cheaper price than the other competitors”. Also, govt declared STB’s as Telecom Network Equipment, a move to further strengthen the domestic companies which will allow them to produce more by gaining exemptions. As a result VAT will cut down to 4 per cent from current 12 to 14 per cent.
“Operators are looking for about 1 Million STB’s in three months. We are working dedicatedly to fulfill this demand. We plan to start production capability and take it up to the scale of demand. First batch should be ready before 30 days” Sabharwal added. Simmtronics is looking for at least 10 per cent market share in STB business which will pump up to $83 Million to the revenue of 2015. They plan to further grow the business and intends to capture 25 per cent of the market share in the next 2 years. As imported STB’s were cheaper, Indian manufacturers were able to secure only 5 per cent of the market share after which govt imposed some taxes on these STB’s to level the competition for the domestic market.
