UK-based NRI Hirji Patel, owner of ACi is opening a factory in India
hopes to export laptops to different corners of the world

New Delhi, August 28, 2004
Surajeet Das Gupta
Business standeard

It’s a relative pygmy in the Indian laptop business. But last week Mumbai-based Zenith Computers took the IT industry by storm when it went on the offensive with seven new models including a super low-priced entry-level machine for Rs 32,000. If that wasn't enough it slashed the price of its high-end model from Rs 72,000 to Rs 54,000. That was a Rs 18,000 price cut and it was a clear signal that a laptop war is underway.

Zenith’s not the only company that’s changing the rules of the game and aiming to make it big in the laptop market. At one level, aggressive and savvy giants like Samsung and LG are muscling their way into the world of laptop computing.

And, at an entirely different level, there are relatively unknown newcomers like Allied Computers International(Asia) commonly known as ACi which is threatening to drop prices to as low as Rs 15,000. ACi, owned by UK-based NRI Hirji Patel, is opening a factory in India and hopes to export laptops to different corners of the world from here.......more

Biography

Mr. Patel was born in Kenya and then went to live in London in 1967. He went to Queen Mary College (University of London) to read B.Sc. in Avionics. His first job was with the Guidance Weapons Division of GEC Avionics in Rochester. He then worked for the weapons division of British Aerospace. After two years with British Aerospace, he decided to leave the defense field to become a software consultant. He worked as a software consultant for six years. He then decided to start his own business. This he did by persuading three of his fellow consultants working at British Telecom. They formed a company called BKPW (the name derived from their surnames - Butler, Kellard, Patel and Wesson). They then moved on to form ACi

His job as a managing director is to ensure that the company grows to the levels he wants it to grow. Says Mr. Patel, "My aim was to be the number one notebook supplier in the country."

Aci Set to Appoint National Disty, Expand Network

Mumbai, December 10, 2003
By Bhavika Jhaveri

To increase its presence and gain higher market share,Mumbai-based Aci Asia Ltd. is in the process of appointing a national distributor.

Aci is in talks with a few major distributors, but according to sources the choice is likely to firm on Redington. The company will also soon increase its channel network from current 80 to 200 channel partners.

Hirji Patel, chairman, Aci Group, said, "To increase our reach in the country, we are speaking to a few large distributors and also appointing more dealers across the country."

When asked the reason for the delay in selecting a distributor, Patel said, "We were putting our service infrastructure in place. Presently, we have 24 service centers in India, which can provide component-level services.'

Apart from channel expansion, the company will introduce three new Centrino notebooks, which will be available over this week.

The first version of Centrino is a 14-inch tablet PC with 256MB memory, 30GB HDD, fully enabled with Wi-Fi, along with a touchscreen and compatible to Windows XP. Priced at Rs 89,990, it has an built-in web camera. Patel further elaborated, “We are offering this model at a considerably less price as compared to Acer or Compaq. Our products are of high quality with the latest technology and fully upgradeable as well.”

The other two models are Emerald Prolight, which costs Rs 79,990, and Optima, a 15.4-inch screen Centrino model, which will come at Rs 94,990.

With this initiative, the company plans to increase its yearly sales to 8,000-10,000 notebooks per annum, as compared to 4,000-5,000 notebooks per annum.

Aci also has an ambitious plan to provide a free laptop to all secondary school students under an education scheme. “This is a wonderful concept and we expect all the resellers to actively participate in this. It should be implemented in the next six months, as talks are already on with the government," Patel revealed.