Industry Today: Profile interview with managing director of Foxconn Slovakia

Industry Today magazine published a profile interview with Peter Hrčka, CEO of Foxconn Slovakia. He talks about technological challenges in electronics production, economical performance, employment, environment and future prospects.

“We currently produce mostly LED TV, but we are also the only OLED TV manufacturer in our country. We make devices up to 8K resolution with diagonals of more than 2 meters and also products with unique technology,” says Peter Hrčka.

“Although the TV market is turbulent and labor costs in Slovakia are rising rapidly, we have been able to keep our revenues around 1.1 bil. euros and positive balance,” states the managing director of Foxconn Slovakia. “There is also fierce competition in the segment of contract manufacturers in the CEE sector and we have to fight for contracts. The decreasing price of materials also does not benefit EU firms, as labor costs have a significant share of the price of the final product.”

Concerning the labor market, Peter Hrčka said that finding a skilled workforce is an almost impossible mission. “Especially in Nitra last year there was no workforce at all. Without basic training programs, it is almost impossible to operate at the moment.”

Foxconn has been focusing on Smart Industry since 2015, when it launched the internal Smart Factory project and created a department dedicated to the future of manufacturing processes and logistics. “It is one of the pillars of our current operation and the engine of innovative activities and efficiency improvements,” emphasized the company director.

And what are the future visions? “We are focusing on the production of consumer electronics, and we are on top of our current capacity, so we do not expect a significant change in our portfolio in the near future,” said Peter Hrčka.