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Foxconn Group: The Largest Manufacturer of Electronics

Foxconn Group: The Largest Manufacturer of All Electronics in the World

So, you think that Google or Apple is the largest companies in the domain of technologies and electronics? Oops!, wrong

The world’s largest electronics and information technology manufacturer is in fact Foxconn Technology Group, with more than 1.3 million employees in 2016. The company is headquartered in New Taipei, Taiwan.

Foxconn’s clients include major electronics as well as information technology companies. Among the most notable products that the company manufactures, are the iPhone, iPad, BlackBerry, Kindle, PlayStation and many more…

The company was founded in 1974 as a manufacturer of electrical components for a local business. Today, its facilities are located in dozens of countries throughout the world, all the way from Japan (where Foxconn produces up to 70 p. 100 of the LCD displays at Sharp’s plant in Sakai), and Brazil, to South America and Slovakia, and Europe. The company runs Asia Pacific Telecom and operates 4G telecommunications equipment in a few countries. Altogether, Foxconn’s factories comprise approximately 40 percent of all consumer electronics products sold on our planet.

Foxconn’s largest factory worldwide is located in Longhua Town, Shenzhen, China where hundreds of thousands of workers are employed at the Longhua Science & Technology Park, known as “Foxconn City”. According to various sources, about 450,000 workers and employees work within its 15 factories and have access to one site with grocery stores, banks, cafes, restaurants, bookstore, and even a hospital. There is a local television network called Foxconn TV, that brings news and information to company’s inhabitants. Another of Foxconn’s factory cities is Zhengzhou Technology Park in Zhengzhou, Henan province of China. No less than 120,000 workers are employed there. In fact, in China, the company employs more people than any other private company in the country.

Foxconn continues to expand throughout the world. In China, the electronic giant plans to build additional facilities in Beijing, the capital of the country, in Wuhan (Hubei province), Haizhow and Kunshan (Shanhai), Tianjin and as well as Guangdong (Guangzhou). In Brazil the company is considering more investments to expand its mobile phone factories and production bases. In Europe, where Foxconn is the second-largest exporter in the Czech Republic, it plans to build new plants in Hungary, Slovakia, Turkey, as well as stretching out towards India, Malaysia, Mexico, South Korea, and the list goes on.

Among the major customers of Foxconn (other than Apple), we can find Acer Inc., Amazon.com, BlackBerry, Cisco, Dell, Google, Hewlett-Packard, Huawei, InFocus, Microsoft, Motorola Mobility, Nintendo, Sony, Toshiba, Vizio and Xiaomi.

Foxconn has been involved in several controversies all relating to employee grievances or treatment. Allegations of poor working conditions have been made on several occasions, including a public outcry after 7 Szenzhen committed suicide on premise within a year. Apple, Google and other customer business performed serious audits on the hours worked, time off given and the living quarters at the plant; and it the end defended Foxconn. They did have made Foxconn publicly promise to improve working conditions however, to lessen public outcry.