RIM negotiates BlackBerry production in Brazil
Valor Econômico
Canadian Research In Motion (RIM), owner of the BlackBerry cell phone, is in advanced negotiations with electronics manufacturer Flextronics in order to start the production of their mobile phones in Brazil. The production of the equipment, as found out by Valor, has already been tested in the production lines of Flextronics, installed in Sorocaba, in the interior of São Paulo. Yesterday, according to an insider, a group of RIM officers visited the plant of the company, which is specialized in the outsourced production of equipment. Asked by Valor, the Mobile Equipment Manufacturing Director of Flextronics, Nelson Madrid, said he could make no announcements on the matter due to confidentiality agreements the company has with its clients.
Jim Balsillie, Joint Executive Officer of RIM, is in Brazil to announce the business plans for the country tomorrow in São Paulo, in a meeting with representatives of the Government, businesspeople and the press. Balsillie has come together with a team of officers of the company, including Rick Costanzo, responsible for the Latin American operations. RIM has evaluated projects to start the local production of the BlackBerry for quite some time. Exactly a year ago, in an interview to Valor, Costanzo said the company was especially concerned with the impact of the taxes on their products in the country and that the local production would be one of the best means to cut down the cost of the equipment.
It has been some years since the other major cell phone global brands, such as Nokia, Samsung, LG and Motorola have started producing their equipment in Brazil, either through their own structure or by means of contracts entered into with companies of outsourced manufacture. So far, only RIM and Apple have no sort of assembling facility for their products. Outside Brazil, RIM already has a production partnership with Flextronics, a Singapore multinational.
A great part of the equipment production is concentrated in Canada, Mexico and in the countries of Europe.