'Assembled in USA’ iMacs made in Fremont, CA?
updated 04:31 am EST, Thu December 6, 2012
Apple returns to roots to build new iMacs
Evidence suggests that Apple’s ‘Assembled in USA’ iMacs are being put together in Fremont, Calif. Some readers of 9to5Mac have kept a keen eye on their shipping and tracking information noting that one pick up point in the journey from manufacture to delivery originated in Fremont. If accurate, it would mark a symbolic return to Apple’s former manufacturing heartland having made its original Macs in Fremont during Steve Jobs' original tenure at Apple.
Fremont, Calif. also happens to be where Jobs also manufactured his NeXT computers. It is also where companies include Compaq, IBM, Texas Instruments and Gateway computers manufactured PC and componentary. Major manufacturing operations in Fremont now include Telsa, which produces its Model S there, while it seems that Apple can once again be added to the list. GM and Toyota have also previously had manufacturing operations in Fremont as well.
While the vast majority of Apple’s manufacturing operations reside in overseas destinations including in China and Brazil, it had continued to put together some of its built-to-order iMacs in the US. With the outcry over labor conditions in Chinese factories, coupled with Apple’s vast cash reserves, the pressure on Apple to return production of some of its products to US soil appears to have come to bear. However, despite this, much of the componentary in Apple’s products continues to be sourced from overseas, which may ultimately remain unavoidable. [via CNET]





Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: 03-24-09
If Apple is actually doing any final assembling in Fremont, it gives enterprise and government purchasers hope for special configurations. Some government installations still require hardware disablement of the microphone, wireless and in some cases, removal of the disk (Macs can still run diskless, booting off servers). It would be nice to be able to have this function done before the display is glued on instead of having a licensed vendor try and carefully open the cocoon to remove them.We'll see what comes of this.