Laird Technologies of the US, a global provider of wireless products and electronics applications, today opened its first offshore manufacturing facility at the Nokia SEZ in Sriperumbudur near Chennai.

Set up at an investment of over $15 million, the 1.6-lakh sq ft manufacturing facility in Nokia SEZ will initially produce antennas, battery packs, and EMI shielding products for cellular handset applications for its Indian customers.

The company also expects to export products manufactured at the Chennai facility to overseas markets. The unit will employ over 1,200 people when fully operational.

"Availability of a skilled work force, support from the Tamil Nadu government, the presence of good logistics, lower costs and our 'close to the customer' strategy were reasons for the choice of Chennai as our first offshore location in India," S Talpallikar, managing director of India operations, Laird Technologies, said.

"This new facility will allow us to support our Indian customers with new products in a timely and efficient manner", the official said.

"With the new manufacturing facility we are poised to aggressively expand our customer base in India over the next 12-18 months", he added.

Laird Technologies operates a corporate research facility in Bangalore, which focuses on the development of materials for use in electronic components and systems.

The laboratory, located in the International Technology Park (ITPL) in Bangalore, employs over 400 technical specialists, including physicists, chemists and material scientists staff the laboratory.

Laird Technologies, a unit of the UK-based Laird Group, is the world's leading designer and manufacturer of antenna, electromagnetic interference, telematics and thermal management solutions for the telecommunications and employs over 14,000 people across 40 facilities located in 14 countries.