The Pacific : Fujitsu Becomes Quiet Power in U.S. Electronics
From the outside, the plant in Anaheim could belong to any of the hundreds of electronics makers that have found a home in the industrial parks of Orange County. Even on the inside, Fujitsu Business Communications of America resembles a U.S. electronic components manufacturing plant.
And that’s exactly the look Fujitsu Ltd. has sought for the legion of factories, business offices and laboratories its two American subsidiaries operate throughout the United States.
The development of the giant Japanese electronics maker’s two North American subsidiaries--Fujitsu America Inc. and Fujitsu Microelectronics Inc.--has occurred very quietly. Over the past 10 years, the subsidiaries have opened five manufacturing plants and five research laboratories from Florida to San Diego. The subsidiaries employ nearly 5,000 and have combined annual sales of more than $1 billion.
Intending to continue its spectacular growth rate, Fujitsu will open two new manufacturing plants and expand operations at several existing facilities within the next year. Plus, executives say, there will be acquisitions and joint ventures.
The record buying power of the yen in America and the need for a hedge against protectionism are major reasons for the rapid expansion. But Fujitsu executives say the primary reason is a need to be close to U.S. customers because of growing interest in the design of custom electronic components and products.
“We have to have a mental relationship with the customer,” explains Ken Katashiba, senior vice president and special assistant at Fujitsu Microelectronics. “We have to design the products from the perspective of the user.”
Going to a Higher Profile
Although the quiet growth exemplifies the style of Japanese multinational companies with large American operations, Fujitsu has decided recently to raise its national profile. The decision comes at a time when the company could most use the exposure.
Fujitsu plants are increasingly manufacturing completed products, rather than just components, and the company wants to introduce its wares. In addition, Fujitsu wants Americans to know just how much this Japanese company has invested in the United States.
“Last month we named the first American citizen to our board of directors,” says Arthur Gemmell, senior vice president for administration at Fujitsu America.
Fujitsu opened its first U.S. operation in San Jose in 1976 to make computer components. Over the next decade, Fujitsu America’s product line grew to include telephone equipment, computer disk drives, laser printers, modems, facsimile systems, electronic cash registers and automated teller machines.
According to Gemmell, the company has since developed to the point that it has 4,000 employees and is beginning to export products to Japan and elsewhere. So, he notes happily, “We’re helping the trade deficit.”
Fujitsu Microelectronics, which was spun off of Fujitsu America in 1979, makes computer chips exclusively. The 800-employee unit operates a manufacturing plant in San Jose and is building a second factory in Portland, Ore.
Fujitsu Microelectronics is perhaps best known for the headlines it made last year when its efforts to buy Fairchild for about $200 million ended unsuccessfully. The company withdrew its offer for one of the country’s oldest chip makers when U.S. government officials expressed fears that the purchase could harm the American technology industry and, possibly, national defense programs.
Despite the aborted sale, Katashiba says Fujitsu intends to pursue other acquisitions or joint ventures and has assigned a small team to find deals. Another possibility, Katashiba says, is starting a new chip-making facility.
