Wistron's LCD TV business may be affected by its major client Sony's stronger relationship with Foxconn Electronics (Hon Hai Precision Industry), which has agreed to buy another LCD TV production plant from the Japanese vendor.
Foxconn, which already acquired Sony's Baja California site in Mexico in September 2009, will also take over Sony's LCD TV making facility in the Slovak Republic.
The Europe plant, like the pre-acquisition Mexico facility, handles Sony's in-house LCD TV production. It means that Foxconn will be taking over more of Sony's in-house production, without affecting the client's outsourcing to other makers, such as Wistron, the second largest LCD TV maker for Sony.
Foxconn started shipping LCD TVs from the Mexico plant at the end of the first quarter of 2010 and the company is expected to receive a total of five million LCD TVs orders from Sony in 2010, industry sources said.
Wistron is expected to ship 5-5.5 million LCD TVs in 2010. It shipped 2.5 million units in 2009, and 70% of them were for Sony, the sources said.
By taking over Sony's production plant, Foxconn's EMS business will expand further. For Wistron, it has started participating in Sony's LCD TV design process, working with the client more like an ODM.
But the closer relationship between Foxconn and Sony means that there is a possibility of even closer relationship in the future that may eventually reduce Sony's outsourcing to Wistron.
But sources from Wistron have noted that Sony will not concentrate all of its outsourcing orders on one company, and Wistron will still have a certain share of the client's orders.
Article translated by Yvonne Yu
