LG Innotek recently finished constructing a manufacturing plant in Vietnam, where it will produce single-lens and dual-lens camera modules for several iPhone models, according to South Korea's ETNews.
LG Innotek reportedly built the factory to expand its production capacity due to Apple's increasing demand for iPhone camera modules. Production costs are also lower in Vietnam, as workers are often paid less than in South Korea.
LG Innotek is said to be planning a production capacity of 100,000 modules per day by the end of this year, and it should start supplying them to Apple on a full-scale basis in 2018. Orders are expected to continue through at least 2019.
"It is heard that LG Innotek's plant in Vietnam is built in order to match increased orders from Apple," an industry representative told ETNews. "It is likely that there is already an outlook for 2018 from Apple."
LG Innotek already has production lines exclusively for Apple, its largest customer, at its factory in Gumi, South Korea. It extends these lines whenever there is a large increase in the number of orders, according to the report.
Top Rated Comments
But wages in Vietnam are a tenth of those in South Korea. Apple must've pushed for a price reduction.
Looks like LG is becoming Apple's new fair haired parts boy for now. It'll be interesting to see if they still are in ten years.
https://www.macrumors.com/2017/07/28/apple-investing-billions-in-lg-for-oleds-report/amp/
I suppose, Google's new fair haired parts boy too.