Who Makes Sharp Appliances and Where Are They Manufactured?
- Sharp appliances are manufactured by the Sharp Corporation, a Japanese electronics and appliance brand founded in 1912 by inventor Tokuji Hayakawa.
- Sharp operates under a complicated ownership structure and is one of three major tech brands owned by Taiwan's Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., commonly known as Foxconn, which...
- One major international production base is Sharp Appliances Ltd.
Sharp appliances are manufactured by the Sharp Corporation, a Japanese electronics and appliance brand founded in 1912 by inventor Tokuji Hayakawa. The company began as a metalworking shop in Tokyo, taking its current name from Hayakawa’s Ever-Ready Sharp Pencil. Its current head office is located in Chuo-ku, Osaka, Japan.
Global Ownership and Manufacturing Structure
Sharp operates under a complicated ownership structure and is one of three major tech brands owned by Taiwan’s Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., commonly known as Foxconn, which serves as its parent company. According to Sharp, Foxconn primarily provides electronic manufacturing services, while Sharp itself handles the sale of telecommunications equipment, electronic devices, and other branded products. For consumers in the United States, operations are anchored by the Sharp Home Electronics Company of America, a division of the Sharp Electronics Corporation, which operates as a subsidiary of the Sharp Corporation. Manufacturing locations span several countries, including the U.S., Malaysia, France, Japan, China, and Thailand, with specific production sites determined by the product type, model number, and intended market.
Regional Production Facilities
One major international production base is Sharp Appliances Ltd. in Thailand, which acts as the brand’s home-appliance producer in the country. Sharp states that this facility began manufacturing refrigerators in 1988. Over its lifespan, the Thai plant has produced more than 10 million refrigerators, exporting them to approximately 100 countries across the Far East, the Americas, and other global markets. In the U.S., the Sharp Manufacturing Company of America, based in Memphis, Tennessee, has produced appliances for more than 40 years. Operations at the Memphis facility began in 1979 with the production of color televisions and microwaves. Today, the Memphis plant manufactures premium home appliances, while the city also houses select sales, marketing, and service operations for the company.
