ZHENGZHOU - A new Foxconn Technology Group factory began production in Central China's Henan province on Monday, as the Taiwan high-tech giant moves its production facilities to inland China.
The $100 million factory is owned by Futaihua Precision Electronics (Zhengzhou) Co Ltd, a subsidiary of Foxconn.
It will primarily produce Apple iPhones, according to an agreement between Foxconn and the government of Zhengzhou city, Henan's capital city.
A reporter from Xinhua News Agency observed more than 500 employees on the production line of a workshop the company has temporarily rented from the city government.
"It took us only one month to renovate the workshops and the workers' dormitories and to install the facilities," said Lin Zhenghui, deputy general manager of Foxconn.
The factory's employees are largely from Henan and have worked at Foxconn's plant in the coastal city of Shenzhen. The workers volunteered to work at the new plant, a Futaihua spokesman said.
Construction of the company's permanent plant will begin on August 20 at a site several kilometers away.
The permanent plant is expected to begin production in one year. It will make about 200,000 iPhones per day.
The workers are housed in several seven-story buildings near the factory, where they have access to a sports ground, fitness facilities and reading rooms.
Several Foxconn workers committed suicide this year, raising questions over the company's management style.
In July, Taiwan's Hon Hai Precision Industry Co, the parent company of Foxconn, registered to build two factories in Henan for the production of cell phones and related devices.
Along with Henan, Foxconn has opened inland plants in Hebei, Shanxi and Hubei provinces, as well as in the city of Chongqing. In July, the company also invested in two factories in Chengdu, capital city of Southwest China's Sichuan province.
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