So where exactly are Blackberrys made? If I were a security-conscious customer, I’d want to know the answer to that question up front but I challenge you to find it mentioned anywhere on the RIM website. When a company doesn’t readily acknowledge its manufacturing supply chain, it tingles my paranoia reflex. Here’s what I learned after about 30 minutes of work. It ain’t good if you’re security-conscious.
According to this 2009 Bloomberg article, RIM’s five biggest suppliers account for 90% of its production costs. They are:
Elcoteq SE: Elcoteq is a Finnish company with a global factory network that includes “a regional office in Hong Kong, branch office of Beijing in Shenzhen, an Engineering Service Center and after-market services unit in Beijing and high-volume manufacturing units in Beijing and Dongguan.”
Jabil Circuit, Inc.: Jabil is a successful U.S. multinational company whose customers include Apple, Cisco, GE, IBM, and Research In Motion. Much of its manufacturing is done in Asia. “Prior to 2005, it acquired a Lucent Technologies plant in Shanghai, China. The company later added the electronics manufacturing business of Varian Inc. to its arsenal. It opened new facilities in China, India, and Ukraine, and expanded plants in Hungary, Malaysia, Mexico, and the United States. During 2006, Jabil set its sights on Taiwan Green Point Enterprises Co., a manufacturer of plastic casings used for items including cell phones, iPods, and Blackberry devices.”
Multi-Fineline Electronix Inc.: A U.S. company who makes RIM’s flexible circuit boards at its manufacturing facilities in Suzhou, China.
QUALCOMM is another important supplier who’s CDMA development center is in Beijing although it’s not clear which of its many overseas facilities supplies RIM.