Apple to come to SP, says State Government
Valor Econômico
Apple will start producing cell phones and tablets in Brazil between September and November, said yesterday Luciano Almeida, President of Investe SP, São Paulo State Agency for the Promotion of Investments and Competitiveness. According to Almeida, the manufacturing will be made to order by Foxconn in the State of São Paulo. "Five or six cities fight for the investment", he said, without revealing the names of applicant cities. Sought by Valor, Apple and Foxconn said they would make no announcements on the subject.
Nevertheless, the President of Investe SP presented details of what would have been agreed upon between the Government and the Chinese company. He said 6 million iPhones and iPads will be produced a year, when the plant reaches its maximum capacity, which must occur within three to four years. The forecast of the Government of São Paulo is that, at that time, the production of Apple in Brazil generates something between 4 and 5 thousand jobs. In a second stage, it is has not been ruled out the manufacture of computers in the country.
According to Almeida, the production line should be put up until June so it can go into operation until November. It seems a short time, but the President of Investe SP said it is feasible. "There will be no production. Foxconn will be an assembler of products", he explained. The value of the investment has not been revealed. According to Almeida, representatives of Apple have met the Governor of São Paulo, Geraldo Alckmin (PSDB, Brazilian Social Democracy Party) in February, and they signed a letter of intent in April. He did not reveal the benefits offered by the Government of São Paulo to attract the project. "Foxconn is still operating in the red in Brazil and the manufacture of Apple would help make the operations feasible in the country", he said.
The assembling of Apple products is the first of three projects Foxconn is planning to implement in Brazil in the coming years, said the representative of the Government of São Paulo. The next move will be the centralization of the five plants the company has in the country into a single unit - creating a Digital City similar to the structure the Asian company has in Shenzen, China. In a third stage, it is foreseen the construction of the factory of liquid crystal displays. In this last phase, the investment may vary between US$ 3 billion and US$ 7 billion. "It will depend on the technology used", Almeida told journalists during the inauguration of a technology center of Alcatel-Lucent.