The Apple suppliers involved in the talks already have manufacturing complexes in Thailand for other clients and are discussing possible assembly and production of components and modules for MacBooks, according to sources from three suppliers directly involved in the conversations with Apple.
“Ideally, Apple asked us to set up facilities in Vietnam for MacBooks, following in the footsteps of other Apple suppliers, but we offered an alternative option of building the product at our Thailand plants, which still have a massive space that can be reserved for the client,” a senior executive at one of the suppliers told Nikkei Asia. “As MacBook assembly will begin in Vietnam first, we could support the components from our Thailand plants, too. … It will only take two to three days of logistics and custom clearance.”
An executive at another supplier said his company is building new plants in Thailand for Apple, and construction of a new factory for MacBooks and other products will be completed this year.
