Harris has contracted with Svyaz Engineering to begin local manufacturing of Harris digital television transmitters to support the Russian Federation's transition to digital over-the-air television, the company said Jan. 11.

The regional manufacturing presence will let Harris offer localized support for broadcasters migrating to the DVB-T/T2 digital format. The Russian switch-off for analog transmission is scheduled for 2015.

"Svyaz is a solid engineering and manufacturing company, boasting unrivalled technical capabilities and world-class manufacturing services,” said Richard Scott, senior VP, global sales and service, Harris Broadcast Communications.

Svyaz specializes in power supply manufacturing, as well as distributing manufactured products to local and export markets. Located in Moscow, the Svayz plant will produce Harris Maxiva UHF multimedia TV transmitters.