Word: techs
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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DIED. BERNARD SCHRIEVER, 94, German-born retired general who led the development of the U.S. Air Force's intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), which could deliver a nuclear bomb from thousands of miles away; in Washington. Schriever, who also helped develop the Air Force's space program, streamlined its high-tech weaponry operations and oversaw the development of the Atlas, Titan, Thor and Minuteman missiles at the height of the cold war in the 1950s and '60s, when building the ICBM was the military's highest priority...
...factory, but the world doesn't know it. The island's nimble manufacturers produce more than two-thirds of the globe's LCD monitors, nearly three out of four notebook PCs, and four-fifths of PDAs. Yet most of this digital gear is made under contracts with big foreign tech companies like HP, Apple and Dell and is resold to consumers carrying those well-known brand names. No longer...
...Taiwan's electronics makers thrive in anonymity, however. The relentless decline in tech hardware prices is putting pressure on the bottom line?profit margins on a Taiwan-made notebook PC, for example, have fallen by half, to 5%, over the past three years. Caught in the big squeeze, Taiwan's tech companies "can't just fly under the radar anymore," says Flint Pulskamp, an electronics analyst at consulting firm IDC in San Mateo, California. "If they're going to survive, they need to step out and get recognition for their brands...
...brands, Taiwan's contract manufacturers are forced to compete with one another almost exclusively on price as they seek to land deals to supply the Apples and HPs of the world?and that kills profits. According to Macquarie Securities in Taipei, the net profit margins at six major Taiwan tech companies fell to an average of 2.9% in 2004 from 7% in 2002. One solution to this high-tech death spiral: get big quick, through acquisitions that produce economies of scale along with brand recognition. Other Taiwan companies are striking deals similar to BenQ's. Earlier in June, Taiwan...
...will take more than guts. Lee must repair the German unit while tussling with Nokia, Motorola and Samsung for global market share. Even Lee admits that how successfully he integrates his new handset business "will determine the destiny of BenQ." But the reality for BenQ and the other Taiwan tech outfits is that high-risk ventures may offer the best chance at survival. "They realize they have to do something very drastic," says IDC's Pulskamp. For Taiwan, it's take center stage, or else...