BenQ

Line

• K.Y. Lee ( Chairman )
• Conway Lee ( CEO)

BenQ Corporation [ benkju ː ] is a provider of high-tech products from Taiwan. The company employs 2,300 people worldwide.

History

The company was (later Acer) founded in April 1984 as a subsidiary of the computer manufacturer Multitech and was originally called Acer Peripherals. The name BenQ got it in 2001, to emphasize the company's motto stronger: "Bringing Enjoyment and Quality to Life" (English for "Bring joy and Quality to Life" ). The then acting as a contract manufacturer of mobile phones and PC accessories company became independent under the leadership of Lee KY at this time under its own brand.

The former Acer Company has acquired 1300 patents for storage, display, image and communications products. About four percent of revenue, the company invests in research and development. This is concentrated with around 1,200 engineers in Hsinchu Lab in Taiwan, as well as on two additional sites in Suzhou (China ) and San Diego (USA). Is produced in Malaysia, Mexico, China and Taiwan.

In two years, sales doubled to four billion dollars, and profit rose from 100 to 250 million dollars. One-third of which comes already from the sale of Joybook notebooks, flat panel displays, video projectors, Joybee MP3 players and mobile phones. To make the new brand better known in Europe, BenQ has invested 18 million euros in advertising and wanted the EM site act as a sponsor of the European Football Championship in 2008 and statisticians drew this commitment but back because of the scandal and loss of image to the acquisition of Siemens Mobile. 2005, the annual turnover of the BenQ Group amounted to 16.5 billion U.S. dollars.

Prior to the introduction of the brand name BenQ Taiwanese opened in August 2000, a German office in Hamburg. 2007 working in the team about 33 employees. On 1 January 2010 BenQ moved its German headquarters to Oberhausen. This decision is justified by the proximity to Europe headquarters in Eindhoven.

According to his own statement the company wants to establish itself as a global brand for the future " digital lifestyle". The company's goal was loud BenQ Germany CEO Michael Grote, located "somewhere between Sony and Samsung ."

The Taiwanese manufacturer Lite-On took over in mid-2006, the DVD burner division of BenQ. Lite-On paid about 30 million euros to BenQ, thereby acquiring the complete BenQ- drive department, their customers and received access to BenQ's drive patents. In return, BenQ received 13 percent of the shares of Lite-On and became its largest shareholder.

Since September 2007, the brand business ( BenQ Corporation) and production ( Qisda Corporation) are separate. The new name Qisda [ Jia Da ː ] is (English for: quality innovation speed drive and successes " ) for" Quality Innovation Speed ​​Driving and Achievements ".

Acquisition of Siemens Mobile

In 2005, BenQ took over the mobile phone division of Siemens AG and put them together with its own telecommunications division. This BenQ rose abruptly to one of the six major brands of mobile phones in the world. The new division has been out since October 1, 2005 under the name of BenQ Mobile with headquarters in Munich. This employed approximately 7,000 people worldwide and was at times the largest of the three newly established areas of activity of BenQ ( Communications, Consumer Electronics, computing). According to the company BenQ could sell own mobile phones through a license agreement with Siemens AG and a half years more under the brand Siemens from the date of acquisition on October 1, 2005. The name brand BenQ- Siemens may be used for 5 years; under this name in 2006, all newly introduced models were brought to market. Latest by the end of this time, the phones should be sold only under the trademark BenQ. The question of whether BenQ can cope with the takeover of Siemens mobile phone division financially, was considered open. Showed developments such as the closure of the plant in Ulm, the sale of the site in Aalborg (Denmark ) to the competitors Motorola, the announcement of a planned reduction of approximately 500 employees in Germany and the yielding of the market share of about 5 to 3.5 percent already that BenQ was facing huge problems in the rehabilitation of the Siemens acquired business unit.

On 28 September 2006 BenQ announced finally that you adjusting the payments to BenQ Mobile in Germany with immediate effect. " The sales and margin trends for the 2006 holiday season has remained below expectations ," said a spokesman BenQ. Since the capital stock of BenQ Mobile GmbH & Co. OHG is only 25,000 euros, the company has filed for bankruptcy in the morning at the local court in Munich on 29 September 2006. In OHG the 3400 employees of the company were summarized. Which belongs to the mobile phone division Asset GmbH, which combines the spiritual values ​​of the company is not affected by the insolvency. BenQ plans to continue its global mobile phone business, the BenQ-Siemens brand and to now use the existing research, development and manufacturing capabilities in Asia.

The 3000 BenQ employees are treated according to a spokesman of the Siemens group until 2009 to find a job within Siemens to external candidates preferred. In addition, a relief fund was established to assist employees financially. BenQ and Siemens are due to the threat of job losses in the former Siemens plants in the criticism. For the 3,300 laid-off employees 2008 public funds in the amount of 12.8 million euros will be allocated from the European Globalisation Fund for retraining and reintegration from the spring.

December 31, 2006 BenQ Mobile ceased production. On February 24, 2007 it was announced that the last prospect is jumped and the company will be broken up.

The share price of BenQ rose significantly in the short term immediately after the announcement of the German insolvency, however, is strongly declined in the sequence.

In Germany, a significant drop in sales of all BenQ product lines was observed (not just mobile phones). In addition, BenQ has struggled in Europe with a rapid loss of reputation, which this slump in sales figures favored when has not even caused. According to the insolvency of BenQ Mobile was the only market in Russia fairly stable during the Christmas season 2006/2007.

In March 2007, the BenQ chief marketing officer Jerry Wang announced over the Taiwanese EETimes on a number of new devices from simple mobile phones to smart phone and UMPC for 2007. Likewise, BenQ announced that it wants to be involved as one of the main sponsors of the 2008 European football championships in Austria and Switzerland in order to improve its image in Europe again, which, given the just occurred insolvency of BenQ Mobile fierce criticism by in Germany Trade unions and the media came. In the summer of 2007 finally it was announced that BenQ waived his commitment as a sponsor of the European Football Championship 2008.

End of March 2007 was also announced that the BenQ Chief Financial Officer Eric Yu was taken into custody on suspicion of insider trading in Taiwan. Previously had searched the BenQ headquarters in Taipei police and prosecutors. The local Financial wanted to clarify the suspicion of the BenQ- management members had ( at the time of the preliminary insolvency of BenQ Mobile ) and in March 2006 performed prior to the public disclosure of major quarterly losses in October 2006 larger share sales. Other top managers of the company were first released after payment of a deposit. Against the chairperson K.Y. Lee will not currently being determined according to a statement the prosecutor. Nevertheless, the company's share price temporarily dropped out after the arrests, one to the lowest level since the founding of the company.

At the same time it was announced that BenQ had diverted a sum of 504 million euros from BenQ Mobile, just before the subsidiary went bankrupt. The approximately 4,350 creditors, claims amounting to almost 1.2 billion euros from the insolvent BenQ Mobile GmbH & Co. OHG have filed, then planned a million lawsuit against the parent company BenQ in Taiwan. Then allegations were among observers and the media again loudly that BenQ had never been interested in a rescue of the Siemens mobile phone division and have made ​​the conscious subsidiary into bankruptcy.

Group structure / investments

At the BenQ Group companies include the following:

• AU Optronics
• BenQ Corporation
• BenQ Guru Software Co.
• BenQ Hospital
• Cando Corporation
• Darfon Electronics Corporation
• Daxon Technology Inc
• Darwin Precisions Ltd..
• Daxin Materials Corporation
• Qisda Corporation
• Raydium Semiconductor Corporation
• Wellypower Co. Ltd..

Products

The range of BenQ includes LCD TVs and monitors, video projectors, scanners, notebooks, CD -ROM and DVD drives, CD -RW and DVD RW burner, storage media, computer accessories such as computer mice and keyboards, image processing systems, digital cameras and solutions for mobile communications and broadband technology. Through the acquisition of Mobile Devices from Siemens AG, a further focus in range on mobile phones (cell phones ). In the combination of such components for both the professional as well as for the private use of the future will lie in the consumer electronics, according to BenQ.