Electronics maker Nokia will manufacture broadband products, including fiber-optics and optical modules in Kenosha County, Wisconsin, the company announced with Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday.
As the first company to produce such products in the U.S., Nokia will partner with Sanmina Corp. as the contract manufacturer for the site. Nokia currently supplies 70% of the continent's fiber broadband lines, according to the company.
Production is slated to begin in 2024.
Nokia will produce the broadband lines for the Department of Commerce's Broadband Equity Access and Deployment Program, which provides $42.5 billion in funding to expand high-speed internet access.
Vice President Kamala Harris visited the site on Thursday as part of the Biden administration's Investing in America tour.
"I am proud to announce that Nokia, a company based in Finland, will expand this factory here in Kenosha and hire up to 200 new employees," Harris said in her remarks. "They will build the parts that are needed to connect people with high-speed Internet.”
Nokia’s global reach stretches across five continents, including a research lab in Murray Hill, New Jersey, but the company has not previously manufactured its broadband products in the U.S.
Contract manufacturer Sanmina has its own global presence, with approximately 18 manufacturing locations across North America, including 14 current sites in the U.S., according to its website.
The two companies have previously partnered: In 2016, Sanmina helped Nokia deliver data center services and manage multivendor supply chains.
“Sanmina has been manufacturing in the U.S. for more than forty years and we are excited to partner with Nokia to support their efforts to build robust and resilient high-tech fiber broadband networks that will connect people and societies,” Sanmina Chairman and CEO Jure Sola said in a statement.
