Apple partner Foxconn to invest $40M in robots & research in Pennsylvania

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
Foxconn plans to build a new manufacturing facility in Pennsylvania as part of a $40 million investment by the Taiwan-based electronics maker, which is responsible for building the bulk of Apple's products.

Foxconn


Foxconn, also known by its trading name Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., plans to spend $30 million over the next two years on a Harrisburg, Penn., factory that will assemble components for telecommunications equipment and Internet servers, chairman Terry Gou revealed this week, according to Bloomberg. The remaining $10 million will be invested in research and development at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Penn.

The company's new Harrisburg factory is expected to create about 500 jobs, expanding on an existing Foxconn manufacturing facility in the state capital that employs 30 people.

The announcement validates rumors from late last year that suggested Foxconn was planning to build new manufacturing plants within the U.S. However, there has been no indication thus far as to whether any American Foxconn facilities would handle production of Apple products.

Officials from Foxconn said last year that the idea of building products in America was intriguing to them because there is a demand for it among U.S. consumers. The company has already been planning a training program for U.S.-based engineers through a a partnership with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Companies such as Apple have come under fire for their reliance on labor from the Far East for the assembly of popular electronic devices. Critics have contended that wages are too low, and have pointed to highly publicized employee suicides as evidence of poor working conditions.

Apple has responded by pledging to build its new high-end Mac Pro desktop, which will become available next month, entirely within the U.S. Assembly of that device will be handled by Flextronics in Texas, transitioning manufacturing responsibilities of the Mac Pro away from current partner Foxconn.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 19
    This is awesome news for Harrisburg, Pennsylvania! I am looking forward to learning more about this R&D investment!!
  • Reply 2 of 19
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,176member
    This is awesome news for Harrisburg, Pennsylvania! I am looking forward to learning more about this R&D investment!!

    Anytime an area can attract a big tech investment it's a huge plus. Kudos to Harrisburg. There's indications the plant may primarily be building servers for HP among others (HP is one of their biggest clients).

    I'm wondering too if Huawei might use them in trying soften some of the security concerns voiced over their servers and telecommunications equipment. Many companies are being cautious about Huawei since some recent reports from the US Government and I noted the specific mention of telecommunications in the press release.
  • Reply 3 of 19
    rob53rob53 Posts: 3,241member

    I like what Foxconn is doing but we need to realize that while this helps put Americans to work, the profits go back to Taiwan. This is the same as buying some models of Toyota, Honda, Nissan and even BMW. They are "assembled" in US plants with profits going back to where their corporate headquarters are. The grand old US of A is "owned" by foreign countries. Buying American doesn't mean what it used to mean. People have to understand we're owned by a global economy with a third of our debt owned by non-American companies and countries. Yes, it's nice to see Apple and others try and bring jobs back to the US but all of this buy American and keep the money local only works on a limited basis with a limited number of items. Yes, there still are products where "Made in the USA" means everything used in the creation of the product comes from US soil but not nearly as many as those products made from resources collected from around the world. 

     

    I hope the Foxconn project helps enrich people's lives in Pennsylvania because it's going to enrich Foxconn's bottom line in Taiwan.

  • Reply 4 of 19

    $40M will be barely buy off a handful of politicians these days.  FoxConn is going to have to step up its game.

     

    The AFR-CIO will have demands.  Extended smoke breaks, more time off, and free 10W-40 in all the break rooms.

  • Reply 5 of 19
    rob53rob53 Posts: 3,241member

    Another thought---

     

    Remember when we shipped all our manufacturing to "third-world" countries with cheap labor? It looks like the US is where cheap labor and infrastructure costs are (land, property taxes, fuel, etc.). All fun aside with labor unions and coffee breaks, maybe Foxconn and others are seeing that the benefits of assembling computer devices in the US outweighs the problems. If most of the devices they make will be consumed in the US, then why pay overseas shipping costs when they can be stuck on a truck.

     

    Internet servers? Dell and HP?

    Telecommunications devices? Cisco?

  • Reply 6 of 19
    msimpson wrote: »
    $40M will be barely buy off a handful of politicians these days.  FoxConn is going to have to step up its game.

    The AFR-CIO will have demands.  Extended smoke breaks, more time off, and free 10W-40 in all the break rooms.

    perhaps they'll have jumper-nets surrounding the factories' upper floors, and unlockable dorm-doors in the employee apartments?
  • Reply 7 of 19

    Originally Posted by vaporland View Post





    perhaps they'll have jumper-nets surrounding the factories' upper floors, and unlockable dorm-doors in the employee apartments?

     

    Depends on the suicide rate in Pennsylvania.

    Is it above or below the national (United States) average?

  • Reply 8 of 19

    This is all great and all that until we see on the 10-0-clock news; "Robot jumps from the top of the Foxconn manufacturing plant in Pennsylvania."

     

     

    OK, yes I know that statistically at about 900,000 employees, suicide rates were no more prevalent at these factories than anywhere else, but hey, these blog comments are only for recreational purposes.

  • Reply 9 of 19

    I'm sure OTHER Countries are seeing the same "foreign ownership." This process will continue until there are NO PROFITS inside the borders and offshore holders will maintain mercenaries and robots to keep people in line as their biggest capital expenditure.

     

    I remember a time when I met every bit of progress with a sense of promise and hope.

     

    We will all be lease holders in our own countries, with no real rights because we will have to agree to the EULA and settling things in arbitration.

  • Reply 10 of 19
    zoetmbzoetmb Posts: 2,654member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by rob53 View Post

     

    I like what Foxconn is doing but we need to realize that while this helps put Americans to work, the profits go back to Taiwan. This is the same as buying some models of Toyota, Honda, Nissan and even BMW. They are "assembled" in US plants with profits going back to where their corporate headquarters are. The grand old US of A is "owned" by foreign countries. Buying American doesn't mean what it used to mean. People have to understand we're owned by a global economy with a third of our debt owned by non-American companies and countries. Yes, it's nice to see Apple and others try and bring jobs back to the US but all of this buy American and keep the money local only works on a limited basis with a limited number of items. Yes, there still are products where "Made in the USA" means everything used in the creation of the product comes from US soil but not nearly as many as those products made from resources collected from around the world. 

     

    I hope the Foxconn project helps enrich people's lives in Pennsylvania because it's going to enrich Foxconn's bottom line in Taiwan.


    And where do the profits from "American" companies go?   Mostly to stockholders and senior executives.     The fact is that whether it's the construction of the factory or employing American workers, all of that money (except for profits) finds its way back into the American economy.   In fact, a dollar paid to a middle-class or lower income worker goes right into the economy, because they spend it (usually almost immediately) whereas a senior exec with lots of money probably won't spend it (although they might invest it.)   And depending upon the taxation policies of the "home" country, sometimes even the profits stay where it's earned.   That's why Apple keeps so much money overseas.  

     

    Foreign countries don't "own" the U.S. because of debt.   Foreign countries and companies "own" the U.S. because they've bought their way in.  I think this is a much bigger issue than the fact that China owns 8% of our debt.    The vast majority of new or renovated apartments in Manhattan are being bought by foreigners as investments.  Major U.S. companies, especially media companies, are owned by foreign-based conglomerates.    Bertelsmann, the German publisher, owns over 25% of U.S. trade publishing.    In the music industry, there are only three  major labels left:  Universal (owned by Vivendi), Sony (owned by the Japanese) and Warner Brothers (owned by Access Industries, which is technically an American company headed by a Russian).  Etc.

     

    As of July, 2011, 30.4% of American debt was owned by foreign entities.   69.6% of the debt is "domestic" - we owe the money to ourselves.   I think if you asked the average person how much U.S. debt China owns, they'd probably answer "about 30%".    The debt is actually held as follows:

    19%: Social Security Trust Fund

    11.3%:   U.S. Treasury

    8% China

    6.6%: U.S. Households

    6.4%: Japan

    3.5%: State and Local Governments

    3.5%: Private Pension Funds

    2.4%: UK

    2.4%: Money Market Mutual Funds

    2.2%: State, Local and Federal Retirement Funds

    2.1%: Commercial banks

    2.0%: Mutual Funds

    1.6%: Oil Exporting Countries

    1.5%: Brazil

    1.1%: Taiwan

    1.0%: Caribbean Banking Centers

    0.9%: Hong Kong

  • Reply 11 of 19
    gtrgtr Posts: 3,231member
    Investment in robots in America.

    Not the most solid investment I'd recommend...

    [IMG]http://forums.appleinsider.com/content/type/61/id/35300/width/200/height/400[/IMG]
  • Reply 12 of 19
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by rob53 View Post

     

    I like what Foxconn is doing but we need to realize that while this helps put Americans to work, the profits go back to Taiwan. This is the same as buying some models of Toyota, Honda, Nissan and even BMW. They are "assembled" in US plants with profits going back to where their corporate headquarters are. The grand old US of A is "owned" by foreign countries. Buying American doesn't mean what it used to mean. People have to understand we're owned by a global economy with a third of our debt owned by non-American companies and countries. Yes, it's nice to see Apple and others try and bring jobs back to the US but all of this buy American and keep the money local only works on a limited basis with a limited number of items. Yes, there still are products where "Made in the USA" means everything used in the creation of the product comes from US soil but not nearly as many as those products made from resources collected from around the world. 

     

    I hope the Foxconn project helps enrich people's lives in Pennsylvania because it's going to enrich Foxconn's bottom line in Taiwan.


     

    So what? Foxconn will pay US taxes and their employees will be a mix of local and Taiwanese talent.

  • Reply 13 of 19
    flaneurflaneur Posts: 4,526member
    gtr wrote: »
    Investment in robots in America.

    Not the most solid investment I'd recommend...

    400

    Pretty slim and trim for an American robot.
  • Reply 14 of 19
    gtrgtr Posts: 3,231member
    flaneur wrote: »
    Pretty slim and trim for an American robot.

    It's the liquid diet.

    I also hear that shiny metal asses are quite slimming.
  • Reply 15 of 19
    This was all done before. But no one wanted to pay the higher prices for products made in America. People voted with their money for cheaper products. Hence the success of Walmarts. Bringing these jobs back will create jobs but people are not willing to spend more money for American Made products no matter what is thought. Money is hard to come by now and costs for all items in daily life are too much. Are people around here just stupid to not remember history and the days of old? The cycle is being started all over again. The saying is always correct that history will always repeat itself.
  • Reply 16 of 19
    Originally Posted by djkikrome View Post

    This was all done before. But no one wanted to pay the higher prices for products made in America.

     

    The prices won’t change.

     

    …people are not willing to spend more money for American Made products no matter what is thought. 


     

    And yet Apple posted record sales and profits in every single quarter of the recession despite being far more expensive than any other option.

     

    …costs for all items in daily life are too much.


     

    Obviously not; humanity isn’t dying off.

  • Reply 17 of 19
    zoetmbzoetmb Posts: 2,654member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by djkikrome View Post



    This was all done before. But no one wanted to pay the higher prices for products made in America. People voted with their money for cheaper products. Hence the success of Walmarts. Bringing these jobs back will create jobs but people are not willing to spend more money for American Made products no matter what is thought. Money is hard to come by now and costs for all items in daily life are too much. Are people around here just stupid to not remember history and the days of old? The cycle is being started all over again. The saying is always correct that history will always repeat itself.

    You're ignoring a number of factors:

    - Although still far less expensive than the U.S., wages in the third world are increasing rapidly.

    - Since Apple and companies like it don't hire those workers directly and go through third-party manufacturers, it's not just a matter of labor cost because those companies must make profits as well.   

    - With high fuel costs, shipping those products to the U.S. is expensive, especially when they're last minute shipments by air.

    - This new factory will largely be robot operated, obviously severely limiting labor costs.

    - Money wouldn't be so hard to come by if more people had well-paying jobs.   What companies like Wal-Mart don't realize is that they're limiting their own revenue by paying employees so badly.   If we don't bring more jobs home, they'll be too few people to support the products that are being sold, regardless of where they are manufactured. 

    - And Americans are just plain stupid.   They complain about not enough or low-paying jobs, but don't seem to realize that if they were willing to pay what products are actually worth, those jobs could have remained in the U.S.     I agree that Americans won't change - we want our cheap crap, but it has become a self-fulfilling prophesy.   So great - we have our $19 jeans, $5 t-shirts and $40 DVD players, but now we don't have any jobs for unskilled people outside of the service economy.    So are we better off or worse off?

  • Reply 18 of 19

    Robots don't whinge as much as Americans?

  • Reply 19 of 19
    Robots don't whinge as much as Americans?

    Americans have no idea what "whinge" means. Try "whine" instead. :D
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