Apple Inc has removed three Taiwanese companies, including leading flat-panel maker AU Optronics Corp (AUO, 友達光電), from a list of its biggest suppliers, but added US semiconductor manufacturer Microchip Technology and two other firms, according to a report released by Apple on Monday.
Taiwan’s leading plastic molding manufacturer, Coxon Precise Industrial Co Ltd (谷崧精密工業), and notebook hinge maker Jarllytec Co Ltd (兆利科技) were the other two Taiwanese companies removed from the list, Apple’s annual Supplier Responsibility Report showed.
Meanwhile, Japan’s leading ceramic technology company, NGK Spark Plug Co Ltd, and Eaton Corp PLC, which was founded in the US with corporate headquarters in Dublin, were added to the list.
About 2 percent of the turnover of AUO, a supplier of LCD panels for Apple’s iPhones and iPads, comes from Apple, a Bloomberg News report said.
It has long been reported that Apple plans to switch to an organic LED (OLED) display on at least one iPhone model this year, which is why AUO fell off the list of Apple’s top 200 suppliers this year, the Bloomberg report said.
A media report last year said Apple wants to invest in AUO to develop OLED displays for use in future Apple devices.
There was also a report that Apple has employed former AUO engineers to develop new technology for panel production.
Thirty-eight Taiwanese companies remain on the list, including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker; Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), the world’s largest contract electronics maker; and chipmaker MediaTek Inc (聯發科).
The list also includes Taiwanese integrated circuit packaging and testing services firm Advanced Semiconductor Engineering Inc (日月光半導體), smartphone camera lens supplier Largan Precision Co (大立光) and passive component manufacturer Yageo Corp (國巨).
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