Flextronics, recognised as the world leader in electronics manufacturing services (EMS), has identified a local company to play a major role in supplying strategic design services to the group.
Flextronics is the world`s single biggest manufacturer of cellular phones, accounting for 16% of global production. It is also the biggest fabricator of printed circuit boards and maker of injection-moulded plastic materials outside the car industry. The group manufactures Xbox game consoles for Microsoft; cellphones for Sony-Ericsson, Alcatel and Siemens; printers for Hewlett-Packard and Epson; network base stations for Ericsson; copiers for Xerox; and personal digital assistants for Casio.
In line with the global trend towards providing total solutions, the group recently embarked on a strategy of expanding into the design and development field by establishing Flextronics Design. Initially the group focused on industrial and hardware design, but the need for significant software design capability was soon identified. Company management looked beyond the borders of North America and Asia to satisfy this requirement. Towards the end of September 2002, local technology services company, Azisa, was one of the first software design centres to be acquired.
Being able to draw on resources from design groups in lower cost regions of the world allows Flextronics Design to offer its customers a unique combination of a local interface and lower blended design costs on projects, which is an important competitive advantage in an industry where cost-efficiency is key to survival.
Flextronics SA CEO and technical director, Francois Geldenhuys, concludes: "We`re proud to have been chosen to play such an important role in expanding the engineering development services of an internationally recognised organisation like Flextronics. We expect to grow from strength to strength in extending our design services to Flextronics` global customer base from SA."
Share
Editorial contacts