Hon Hai's Wisconsin plant scheduled to start production in Q4 2020

Taipei, March 19 (CNA) Taiwan-based manufacturing giant Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. said Monday in the United States that its state-of-the-art sixth generation flat panel production site in Wisconsin is scheduled to start production in the fourth quarter of 2020.

In a statement, Hon Hai, also known as Foxconn in the global market, said construction of the facility located in the Wisconsin Valley Science and Technology Park in Racine County, is scheduled to begin by the summer of 2019.

The announcement came after Hon Hai said in late January that it would be rethinking its US$10 billion Wisconsin project, saying the investment would be adjusted to focus mainly on research and development instead of manufacturing as initially planned.

According to international media reports, the investment plan was revised in light of the steep cost of making advanced TV screens in the U.S., where labor costs are comparatively high.

Monday's statement indicated that the sixth generation LCD plant will now roll out screens for a wide range of applications such as education, health and medical care, entertainment, sports, security and smart city development.

"Our commitment from day one has been to establish a winning formula for Foxconn and for Wisconsin," said Louis Woo (胡國輝), a special assistant to Hon Hai Founder and Chairman Terry Gou (郭台銘), in Monday's statement.

"We continue to expand our presence around the state, create jobs, and deepen our partnerships while innovating and adapting to meet changing market needs," Woo said.

"We're investing in Wisconsin because we know manufacturing here is going to drive even greater success and growth for Foxconn and for the community."

Hon Hai said the company will take several key steps in the upcoming months for the Wisconsin project, including announcing the winners of two bid packages by April 1.

"Wisconsin First' has been our commitment from the start and it has been evidenced in our construction hiring to-date," Woo said.

In November 2017, Hon Hai signed an agreement with Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. (WEDC) to build a flat screen manufacturing campus in the state.

The investment, which echoes U.S. President Donald Trump's "America First" policy to bring jobs to the U.S. market, was sold as creating up to 13,000 jobs over six years that have an estimated average salary of US$53,875.

In June 2018, Trump attended the groundbreaking ceremony for a factory to be built by Hon Hai in Wisconsin, and he described Gou as "one of the most successful" businessmen in the world.