March 11, 2024
Revathi Advaithi named one of CNBC Changemakers 2024
Flex companies
Building on our more than 50-year history with a clear purpose, mission, and vision, Flex is the advanced end-to-end manufacturing partner of choice, helping market-leading brands across a diverse set of industries design, build, deliver, and manage products that improve the world.
Through the collective strength of a global workforce across approximately 30 countries, and responsible, sustainable operations, Flex supports our customers’ entire product lifecycles with leading design and engineering, supply chain, manufacturing, post production and post-sale capabilities in every major region.
At our core, we are makers, problem-solvers, and leaders who bring unparalleled passion and proven know-how to design, build, and deliver products for our customers that improve people’s lives. Through our values-driven, high-performing culture, we create the extraordinary.
Be the most trusted global technology, supply chain, and manufacturing solutions partner to improve the world.
Our mission is to achieve our vision and fulfill our purpose.
We do this for our global workforce by providing a safe environment with growth opportunities for our employees to prosper. We do it for our customers by sharing our manufacturing expertise to make products that contribute positively to the world. And we do it for the planet by stewarding sustainable manufacturing and operations practices to minimize environmental impact.
Through all of this, we deliver consistent results and increase value to our shareholders.
We support each other as we strive to find a better way. We move fast with discipline and purpose. And we do the right thing, always.
We offer a comprehensive portfolio of product lifecycle services when and where our customers need it — all while leveraging the strength of our expansive footprint and expertise to help market-leading brands navigate increased complexity, achieve greater resiliency, and gain time-to-market advantages.
160K
Employees
~100
Facilities across
30 countries
10K
Supply chain professionals
16K
Suppliers across global network
At Flex, we celebrate over 50 years of making great products for our customers that create value and improve people’s lives. Delivering a comprehensive suite of product lifecycle services, we partner with leading brands in various industries and end markets around the world — all while stewarding sustainable operational practices that minimize environmental impact.
Our story begins in 1969, deep in the heart of Silicon Valley…
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Revathi Advaithi is the Chief Executive Officer of Flex, the global manufacturing partner of choice that helps a diverse customer base design and build products to improve the world.
