Optel Vision opens manufacturing base in Goa

The 42000 sq ft facility will serve as the company’s hub for APAC region

Viveka Roychowdhury – Goa

Four years after setting up operations in India, Quebec-based Optel Vision, part of Optel Group, became the first North American company to set up a manufacturing base in Goa.

Inaugurating the facility on November 30, Chief Guest Laxmikant Parsekar, Chief Minister, Goa, welcomed their decision and commented that this was a sign that global companies are now willing to see beyond Goa as a tourist and wedding destination. Parsekar took the opportunity to draw attention to a number of pharmaceutical companies which have made Verna Industrial Estate their manufacturing hub, thanks to the availability of a ready pool of pharmacy graduates and other talents. It is thus no coincidence that Optel Vision zeroed in on the same location, to serve the current and potential pharma customers, in India as well as in the APAC region. In addition to pharmacy graduates, Optel Vision also found the required number of skilled engineers, 45 of those employed at the Verna site are local residents. The company plans to double the headcount within the next year, while doubling its sales in the same time frame. The Goa facility is due to start its full-fledged operations by April 2017, which besides manufacturing will include a training facility for Optel Vision’s staff assigned to different projects.

Welcoming the dignitaries, Shaunak Dave, Asian Market Director, Optel Vision also thanked the chief minister and Guests of Honour Nitin Kunkolienkar, Member IPB & Director, Smartlink and Manish Gosalia, Founding Partner, Earthlings and Managing Trustee, Goa Knowledge Foundation, among others, for their support and guidance during the set up of the facility.

Dave mentioned how it was a challenge to convince the 27-year old-Optel Group to consider India as a manufacturing hub, as the country was perceived as a low price market. He managed to convince them by pointing out that if Mercedes and BMW cars could be sold in India, why couldn’t a solution like Optel Vision? The argument worked and today, Optel Vision is reportedly ranked as the top provider in India in the field of integrated automatic inspection and serialisation systems for pharma production lines. Louis Roy, President, Optel Group, spoke about the need to think about what we can do to build a better world for future generations and therefore the need to build sustainable business models. This is reflected in the Group’s CSR activities, like the Group’s financial contributions, through the Canadian charitable organisation SOS Children’s Villages, to look after the education of needy children in Bhuj, Gujarat. The company has also decided to start a new initiative to sponsor the food, medicine and education of one child per employee from January 2017, starting from the new facility at Goa.

The inauguration was followed by a technical seminar by Mario Simard, Senior Product Line Manager, Optel Vision and a tour of the manufacturing facility and product demonstration.

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