We are Flex

From the family room to the board room

In 1969, Joe and Barbara-Ann McKenzie start a family business called Flextronics, making circuit boards for the growing number of companies in Silicon Valley. By automating board construction, they can produce more reliable boards, faster and more cost effectively than their customers can on their own.

A decade later, the company becomes a contract manufacturer that customers rely upon for outsourcing not just their circuit boards, but for other components and assemblies for products.

The proposition remains the same — volume production with consistent quality at lower costs than customers can achieve themselves.

The company next expands its services to include the purchase of materials and parts for manufacturing, as well as using computer-aided design to create and optimize the circuit board for each product.

Expanding across the value chain — and the world

By 1981, Flextronics becomes one of the first U.S. service manufacturers to go offshore by setting up a manufacturing facility in Singapore. It brings with it a common set of employment standards, gaining recognition with employees drawn to the integrity of these practices.

The company realizes extraordinary growth after introducing vertical integration to optimize the supply chain, and expanding globally so that suppliers can be closer to where products were manufactured.

A shift in manufacturing

At this time, there is a growing trend for manufacturers to acquire the manufacturing facilities of original equipment manufacturers in the computer and telecoms sectors. This leads to further acquisitions for the company.

Flextronics’ corporate ownership shifts from public to private as markets endure the slumps of the late 80s and early 90s.

Rigorous quality standards and fast time to market

In 1994, Flextronics returns to the public markets and is listed on the Nasdaq. By the end of the 90s, the company’s 2.6 million square feet of manufacturing space extends across 26 operations centers around the world. Flextronics achieves $2.2 billion in revenue and secures a customer list representing a ‘who’s who’ of the Information and Communications Technology industry.

Flextronics distinguishes itself from competitors by the quality of its working environment and HR standards for employees, as well as a proven track record of getting products to market quickly through multi-disciplinary new product introduction centers.

Strengthening capabilities and scale by acquiring Solectron

In 2007, Flextronics purchases long-time competitor Solectron for $3.6 billion. The bold move put the company at the top of the U.S. market and broadens its domain expertise in computing and telecom and global footprint.

Establishing the Flex main brand

In 2015, the company establishes Flex as its main brand — the name we are known by today. As Flex, we continue to build on our history and evolve our product lifecycle services to provide value for our customers.

Building on over five decades of manufacturing leadership

In 2019, Flex names Revathi Advaithi as our CEO, leading the company into a next era as we celebrate five decades of manufacturing leadership.

The world has changed since our pioneering days of 1969, and so have we. As we write our next chapter, we are focused on earning and retaining the trust of customers as the advanced end-to-end manufacturing partner of choice through our product lifecycle capabilities: from design, supply chain, and manufacturing to post-production and post-sale capabilities. We remain committed to helping our diverse customer base design and build products that make the world a better place.