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Technology Stocks : Qualcomm Moderated Thread - please read rules before posting -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: laodeng who wrote (6855)	2/2/2001 1:24:01 PM
From: Eric L	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 196499

laodeng, << since you are familiar to Nokia, what's your take on possible Nokia move to use all Qualcomm chips? >> From what I can gather, that likelihood is small. I do think that it is possible that Nokia could, should, and perhaps will, use Qualcomm for some portion of their CDMA chipset supply ... and in a sense, they are already doing so through Telson ... but I'm talking about a more direct approach. Nokia has a dilemma. They have to master CDMA chipset design. Margins are dependent on it in both 2G & 3G CDMA, and the much bigger game will be 3G. Right now they are the only handset player making substantial operating margin and maintaining close to, or better than 20% is a must. << It would be great for both companies to work together in any sense. Agree? >> I absolutely do. I would not rule it out. Finding the proper way to do it, in a way that is a Win for both companies, may be what is prolonging 3G licensing. Nokia has a reputation for being a great partner for its supply chain ... forecasting extremely well ... working creatively and expeditiously with partner to solve problems ... seldom canceling or postponing orders, etc. QUALCOMM same way. I keep wondering how the TI/QUALCOMM deal plays in this ... and I really believe that it does. << Do you know the Texas plant where Nokia is reducing headcount is the place they make cdma phones? >> I am not sure. I suspect Mexico. Have you seen this just released? >> Nokia To Shift Proportion Of Mobile Phone Manufacturing From U.S. To Factories Abroad; Action Intended To Increase Market And Cost Leadership February 02, 2001 Nokia Press Release Production of mobile phones to increase in Latin America and Korea Nokia today announced it is making significant changes in its manufacturing operations at its North Texas factories to maintain its advantage in the highly competitive mobile phone industry. The world's largest mobile phone supplier will shift some of its mobile phone manufacturing from its U.S-based factories in Texas to its facilities in Korea and Mexico. As a result of this change, Nokia's employment in North Texas will decrease by approximately 800 full-time employees at its two Texas-based manufacturing facilities over the next five months. During the past year, Nokia has increased production of mobile phones substantially in response to strong demand for its products. However, the majority of increased manufacturing for the Americas region has taken place at its factories in Mexico, Brazil and Korea. "We continue to grow faster than the market," K-P Wilska, president, Nokia (Americas), said. "In recent months we have increased the capacity of our factories by installing newer machinery and improving our manufacturing processes. This means we can achieve higher volumes than before, with less labor. In the future, as we begin to make new products that were designed for manufacturability as well as performance, we will have even more capacity. Because of this, we are taking actions designed to increase our market and cost leadership." Manufacturing will be shifted to Korea and Mexico from the Diplomacy Road/Centreport factory in Ft. Worth and it will be subleased. The Alliance factory will be focused on more engineering support for the Americas and fulfillment for the U.S. market, but will continue manufacturing mobile phones. In addition, Nokia plans to consolidate all of its Ft. Worth-based operation at the Alliance facility. "We are firmly committed to building on our market-leading position as our products and our business evolve. Likewise, we remain firmly committed to our Alliance facility and to the City of Ft. Worth, and we intend to be here for many years to come," Wilska said. Nokia has occupied the Diplomacy factory since 1991, when the company first began manufacturing operations in the United States. The Alliance factory opened in 1995 to accommodate increased demand for mobile phones. Nokia's regional headquarters for the Americas is located in Irving, Tex. The 'Nokia Campus', as it is commonly called, consists of administrative, sales and marketing and R&D employees. Beginning with a handful of employees in the Dallas-Ft. Worth Metroplex in 1992, Nokia currently employs around 5,500 in the area. << - Eric -