GN Netcom moves headset production to Canada

GN Netcom, the vendor of Jabra-branded Bluetooth headsets, has awarded the contract for the production of Bluetooth headsets to Canada-based firm Celestica, who outbid a number of competitors including Taiwan-based Foxconn Electronics.

The contract between GN and Celestica subcontracts the majority of GN’s production to the Canadian company. GN has suspended operations of its own plant in Xiamen, China.

The plant in Xiamen used to produce around 10% of GN’s total output. The other 90% of production was outsourced.

In 2007 GN shipped a total of 29 million Bluetooth headsets and other related devices, an increase of 7% compared to 2006. Around 74 million headsets were produced in total in 2007. The market is expected to grow by 25% every year for the next three years, reaching 144 million units by 2010.

However, in spite of rising sales, GN’s market share in the consumer segment fell to 20% during 2007, and this is thought to be the reason that the company has decided to cut costs by integrating its production.