Kevin Rollins (right), president & CEO of Dell Inc, with Romi Malhotra, MD of Dell International Services, India, in New Delhi on Monday. Picture by Prem Singh

New Delhi, Jan. 30: Dell is scouting for a suitable site to set up a manufacturing facility in India. The world’s largest maker of personal computers will also increase the headcount in its three local call centres by nearly 50 per cent.

“We are looking at a suitable site to set up a manufacturing base. We would like the facility to come up sooner rather than later. However, no timeframe has been set,” Dell CEO Kevin Rollins said.

The company will consider the logistics of an area, workforce availability and the level of co-operation from the local government while selecting the site. At present, Dell has call centres at Mohali in Punjab, Bangalore and Hyderabad. In Hyderabad, the company employs 3000 people, while the headcount is 5000 in Bangalore and 2000 in Mohali.

“We have employed approximately 10000 people in these centres. It will grow to 15000 in the next couple of years ? a jump of nearly 50 per cent,” said Rollins.

Dell has nine manufacturing facilities worldwide, of which three are in the US.

Rollins, who met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh earlier in the day, conveyed the company’s commitment to India and its plans to set up a local manufacturing base and develop the market.

“We also told the Prime Minister that when Dell sets up a manufacturing base, an ecosystem of suppliers and logistics are built around it,” he said. The Prime Minister supported Dell’s plans, he added.

Initially, the manufacturing unit of Dell in India would cater to the local market.

The US-based company has decided to set up its fourth local call centre at Gurgaon. The company refused to divulge its investment details.