Belden Inc., the US-based networking and connectivity specialist, is expanding its local manufacturing capabilities in India. The company’s Pune facility will now produce Ruckus ICX Ethernet switches, which are integral to Wi-Fi connectivity, networking equipment, and AI-powered automation systems.
This strategic move follows Belden’s $1.8 billion acquisition of Ruckus Wireless and aligns with the Indian government’s ‘Make in India’ initiative, signaling a significant shift toward domestic production of enterprise networking hardware.
Pune Facility to Drive Local Production
The initial manufacturing of Ruckus ICX Ethernet switches will take place at Belden’s 300,000-square-foot facility in Pune. This expanded capacity is designed to meet domestic demand, with potential export opportunities to be assessed in later phases.
Bart Giordano, senior vice president and general manager at Ruckus Networks, noted that the company has not disclosed specific investment figures or capacity metrics for the expansion. “The first batch of locally manufactured switches is set to roll off the assembly line as we speak,” Giordano said in a virtual interaction.
The ICX Ethernet switching portfolio currently represents nearly 50% of Ruckus’s total business.
Expansion to Include Workforce, Products
Historically, Ruckus Wireless relied entirely on outsourced manufacturing. Following the integration with Belden, the company is leveraging Belden’s existing Pune facility to establish local production.
Ruckus plans to make incremental investments and expand its local workforce as manufacturing scales up. Ethernet switches will form the first phase of production, while the company will evaluate manufacturing other enterprise networking products at the Pune facility in the future.
Strengthening India Operations
The Pune manufacturing operation adds to Ruckus’s existing presence in innovation, operations, and customer delivery across India. Bengaluru hosts the company’s largest global research and development and customer success site, along with Belden’s customer innovation center. Ruckus also operates an R&D center in Chennai in collaboration with the IIT Madras Research Park, focusing on software development and networking innovation.
Beyond enterprise IT, the combined Belden-Ruckus portfolio will target industrial sectors such as advanced manufacturing, warehousing, and logistics.