You probably saw the news on CA’s home page about Wistron’s pending move to Europe. This marks the latest foray by an Asian EMS company into the West.

How should we look upon this?

One one hand, investment by companies of any origin in North America and Europe is good for the locals. They bring much-needed jobs and some stability.
On the other, they are buying on the cheap, and their presence means further competition for the local boys. And the factories these firms open or occupy are generally smaller — sometimes just NPI centers — than the ones that Solectron, Celestica, Sanmina and other Tier 1 EMS companies are closing.

It still boggles my mind that Honda, Toyota and other foreign car makers can make truckloads of cash building vehicles in Tennessee, while U.S. companies must relocate offshore to be profitable.

But every move does give me something to write about.

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