Automation still a hot topic at Foxconn

Manufacturing giant Foxconn, or Hon Hai Group, is forging ahead with plans to fully automate its production line after buying an Anhui-based firm that specialized in the production of automated manufacturing facilities.

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Foxconn subsidiary, Foxnum Technology, signed an agreement with Hongqing Precision Machine Company on November 12 for an 80 percent stake in the business. According to reports, Foxconn plans to buy the remaining 20 percent of the company next year.

Hongqing is a hi-tech company specializing in the manufacture of numerical control machine tools, precision machinery and automatic systems. This also marks Foxconn’s first foray into Anhui province as part of its transformation period to build a production and processing center there for robots and other automated tools.

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Automation has been high on Foxconn’s agenda for some time due to rising employment costs and continued pressures on the manufacturing sector as a whole to increase efficiency while reducing costs.

It was reported that Hongqing chairperson Yan Xiaocheng and Hon Hai chairperson Terry Gou have known each other for several years and that Hongqing was the Chinese base of the U.S. Dyna Group for production of computer numerical control (CNC) machine tools. Hongqing produces 800 CNC machine tools per year and enjoys an advantage in both capacity and technology, making it attractive as a partner for Foxconn.