Apple supplier Foxconn is set to spend $2.6 billion on a new plant that will produce displays exclusively for the Cupertino company, reports Bloomberg. Foxconn Technology Group will invest the amount, equivalent to NT$80 billion, on the new facility over the next two years after an “urgent” request from its client.
Equipment installation will commence next month with mass production of panels to start by the end of 2015 after an urgent request for exclusive capacity, Sophia Cheng, a public relations representative for Foxconn’s display unit Innolux Corp., said by phone, citing comments made by President Wang Jyh-chau at a press conference today.
Foxconn currently has factories in China dedicated to assembling Apple products. However, the new display plant, set to be constructed in Southern Taiwan and employ 2,300 people, would be the first to produce components that go into Apple devices themselves. Foxconn, which counts Apple as its largest client, is aiming to diversify its offering, according to the report.
Little is known about what products the display are targeted at. Apple uses LCD technology across its current Mac, iPhone and iPad lines so getting Taiwan’s largest LCD manufacturer on board is not going to harm the production process.
Innolux has been rumored in the past to one of the display manufacturers for Apple products with the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 being the most recent, but other suppliers like LG and Japan Display are also said to provide displays for Apple’s latest devices.
