Dive Brief:
- Orbic Electronics Manufacturing will invest $30.8 million to move its manufacturing processes from China to New York, the state’s Suffolk County Industrial Development Agency announced last month.
- The cellphone and tablet maker plans to lease and renovate a 70,000-square-foot facility in Hauppauge on Long Island and install four surface mount technology lines and eight assembly lines, Orbic CFO Gina Wetzel said in a letter to the SCIDA.
- The onshoring move is part of the electronics supplier’s “Project Patriot” business strategy — urged by key customers like Verizon — to improve sustainability and avert supply chain issues by manufacturing products in the U.S.
Dive Insight:
The company began working on Project Patriot last January and plans to begin renovations next month, Orbic President and CEO Mike Narula said in an email to Manufacturing Dive.
“We have the necessary real estate available and for future expansion, support from Suffolk IDA and opportunity to partner with local colleges and create a pipeline of skilled workers,” Narula said.
The supplier expects to produce 5 million devices per year after the facility relocation, and production is anticipated to begin in Q4.
Two key trends drove the company’s business strategy, Orbic said in its application.
“[One] the demand from our key [original equipment manufacturer] customers like Verizon to rationalize and ‘harden’ supply chains by bringing manufacturing and assembly operations back to the U.S. where possible,” Wetzel said in a letter to the SCIDA. “[Two] create ‘Made in America’ products driven by environmentally sustainable technologies to bring new skilled jobs back to the U.S.”
Companies have been moving or shifting their operations from China due to rising wages and geopolitical risk. Hydroflask-maker Helen of Troy sought to nearshore some of its bottle production by relocating it from China to the Western Hemisphere.
