Foxconn

Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd. (trading as Foxconn) is a Taiwanese multinational electronics manufacturing company headquartered in Tucheng, New Taipei, Taiwan. It is the world's largest maker of electronic components and the largest exporter in Greater China.Foxconn is primarily an original design manufacturer, and its clients include major American, European and Japanese electronics and information technology companies. Notable products which the company manufactures include the iPad,  iPhone,  Kindle, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.Foxconn has been involved in several controversies, most relating to how it manages employees in China, where it is the largest private-sector employer. In 2012, Apple hired the Fair Labor Association to conduct an audit of working conditions at Foxconn.Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd. was founded in 1974 as a manufacturer of electrical components (notably electrical connectors for computer components, which found use in the Atari 2600).Foxconn originated as a trade name of Hon Hai, later becoming a Hon Hai subsidiary. Hon Hai's first manufacturing plant in mainland China opened in Longhua,Shenzhen, in 1988.In 2001 Intel concentrated on its core competency of chip making and began using Chinese contract manufacturers such as Foxconn to make Intel-branded motherboards.In November 2007 Foxconn announced plans to build a new US$500 million plant in Huizhou, southern China.In March 2012 Foxconn agreed to acquire a 10 percent stake in the Japanese electronics company Sharp Corporation for US$806 million and to purchase up to 50 percent of the LCD displays produced at Sharp's plant in Sakai, Japan.Apple Inc. contracts with original equipment manufacturers in China such as Foxconn because they have easy access to the Chinese supply chain within a well developed industrial cluster.In addition, employees at overseas companies are thought to be more flexible, diligent, and skilled than American workers.
Net income $ 2.64 billion (2011)