Nikkei Was Right About Changes To Wisconsin Foxconn Plant: Report

RACINE COUNTY, WI — A report in May out of China that electronics manufacturer giant Foxconn Technology Group is already making big changes to their $10 billion electronics plant in Racine County has apparently been verified by subsequent reports. Foxconn officials quickly responded to the initial report, saying the report is "not based on any facts."

The size and scope of Foxconn's $10 billion plant in Racine County is staggering: The roughly 20-million-square-foot plant will be located just north of County Line Road and just east of I-94 in Mount Pleasant in southern Racine County, according to local officials. That expanse is bordered by Braun Road to the north and Highway H to the east.

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During Foxconn's initial announcement, the new campus will consist of a multi-billion thin-film transistor (TFT) liquid crystal display (LCD) plant, a facility to back-end package liquid crystal display modules, a skill-intensive facility focused on molding and tool-and-die processes and an end-set assembly operation to produce end-device units.

According to a Milwaukee Business Journal Report this week, "Instead, the company first will build a “Generation 6” factory — Gen 6 in industry shorthand. Such plants are much smaller and much less costly than Gen 10.5 factories, use different machinery and turn out different arrays of products, industry watchers say."

That report comes on the heels of an industry report out of China in May, which broke the initial news about Racine County's Foxconn plant. According to the Nikkei Asian Review, Foxconn is changing their initial plan to produce large panel displays in favor of making smaller displays for cars, personal computers, tablets, mobile devices, televisions and niche products.

Foxconn issued a public statement the morning of the Nikkei's report, reaffirming their investment in Wisconsin. "We are aware of the report published by Nikkei Asian Review regarding our investment in Wisconsin. That report is inaccurate and is not based on any facts. "

"Foxconn is moving forward with all aspects of our plans to create 13,000 jobs and to invest $10 billion to build our state-of-the-art Wisconn Valley Science and Technology Park in Wisconsin, which will be completed around 2025. Foxconn is fully committed to this significant investment and to meeting all contractual obligations with relevant government agencies," a statement from Foxconn Technology Group read the morning of the Nikkei report.

The Nikkei cites a number of reasons for this, including that the global market for TV displays is oversaturated, and that the local supply chain resources in Wisconsin make it unlikely that Foxconn could turn out large panel displays.

"It would require other companies like Corning to also set up a glass substrate facility nearby, as it's almost impossible to ship fragile, huge size glass materials from a distant place," one person said in the Nikkei report.

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