Korean Component Suppliers Likely to Be Affected
HP, the largest printer manufacturer in the world, is planning to sell its printer manufacturing center in China to Foxconn.
HP acquired the manufacturing center from Samsung Electronics four years ago. South Korean companies in Weihai, China that have worked with the center are watching the situation closely.
HP recently signed a contract with Foxconn to sell its printer manufacturing subsidiary in Weihai. Foxconn is supposed to acquire the plant and produce products for supply to HP.
The contract includes component production by Foxconn. Specifically, Foxconn will produce the four components including PBA and assembly on its own. This news shocked the 20 or so South Korean companies that have supplied components to the subsidiary. They say that they have increased their production capacity by 40 percent for the past three years at the request of HP.
Immediately after the news, the companies issued a joint statement and asked HP to maintain the current supply chain. However, HP just asked them to work well with Foxconn.