Fabrinet

Fabrinet was founded in 2000 by David T. (Tom) Mitchell, one of the co-founders of Seagate Technology, as a low-volume, high-mix service provider for the manufacturing of complex optical components. The company set out to serve original equipment manufacturers on a contract basis.

With initial funding from Mr. Mitchell and Hambrecht & Quist Asia, Fabrinet took over the lease of Seagate’s Chokchai, Thailand manufacturing site, making Seagate one of Fabrinet’s first customers.

Fabrinet continued expanding its Asia-based manufacturing hubs over the next 10 years. With the 2005 transfer of JDS Uniphase’s manufacturing operations to Thailand, the company focused on manufacturing components and modules for optical communication systems as well as industrial lasers and sensors. Fabrinet introduced the “factory within a factory” operating model, creating a secure system where customers provided the equipment needed to build their products while Fabrinet provided the labor, logistics, manufacturing, and a supply chain. Fabrinet completed an initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange in 2010.

Over the past 20+ years, Fabrinet has become a trusted manufacturing partner for the world’s most demanding OEMs. With over 12,000 employees worldwide, Fabrinet now provides manufacturing, packaging, process technology, and supply chain services to various markets. This includes optical communications, automotive, industrial laser and medical products.