Orion Electric
Orion Electric Co., Ltd. (オリオン電機株式会社 Orion Denki Kabushiki-gaisha) is a Japanese consumer electronics company which was established in 1958 at Osaka, Japan. It is based in the city of Echizen, Fukui Prefecture, Japan. Original products manufactured were transistor radios, radio cassette recorders, car stereos, and music centers. One of the world's largest OEM television and video manufacturers that mostly supply to major-brand OEM customers today, Orion produces six million televisions and twelve million DVD players and TV combo units each year. Most products are usually manufactured in the factories of Thailand.
The Orion Group employs in excess of 9,000 workers. It has factories and offices in countries on four continents, including Japan, Thailand, Poland, United Kingdom, and United States. Over the years, Orion has established and expanded its manufacturing facilities to develop and produce large and small screen color TVs (CRT, LCD, Plasma), TV combos, and DVD player/combos for the U.S., European, and Australian markets. Orion's flagship factories in Thailand are one of the top exporters in that country, and they have been recognized with an award from the Thai Government for their contribution.
Orion manufactures products for eleven of the world's top electronic brands worldwide. Its primary, previous, long-time brands were produced within Memorex, Otake, Orion, and Sansui. For the North American market, Orion used to manufacture many televisions and VCRs for Emerson Radio during the 1980s and 1990s for 10 years, but Emerson Radio went bankrupt, and it was brought up by Funai in 2000, which Funai still owns today. During the 1990s, Orion was the exclusive supplier for Wal-Mart of discounted televisions, combos, and VHS VCRs under Orion and World brand names. In 2001, Orion teamed up with Toshiba for manufacturing smaller CRT/LCD televisions and DVD/VCR combos for the North American market for eight years until 2009. In 2011, Orion licensed the JVC name for televisions, and all JVC televisions are now designed, produced, and supported by Orion. Currently, Orion manufactures LCD/LED televisions and combo TVs for Hitachi and JVC, based on each company's OEM orders. Most units are being sold at Wal-Mart and Sam's Club stores. Orion also operates Orion Sales, headquartered in Olney, Illinois, for the North American market, under its private-owned Sansui brand and, recently licensed, JVC television brand.
External links
- Orion Electric (in Japanese)
- Orion Electric Co., Ltd. (in English)
- Orion Group (in English)