is a Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese consumer electronics

Consumer electronics

Consumer electronics are electronic equipment intended for everyday use, most often in entertainment, communications and office productivity. Radio broadcasting in the early 20th century brought the first major consumer product, the broadcast receiver...

 company, and it was established in 1958 at Osaka

Osaka

is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...

, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

. It is based in the city of Echizen

Echizen, Fukui

is a city in Fukui, Japan.Echizen took its present form on October 1, 2005, when the city of Takefu and the town of Imadate merged to form the new city, although the Echizen Basin has been an important regional center for over 1,500 years. It has many former castle sites and prehistoric...

, Fukui Prefecture

Fukui Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region on Honshū island. The capital is the city of Fukui.- Prehistory :The Kitadani Dinosaur Quarry, on the Sugiyama River within the city limits of Katsuyama, has yielded the Fukuiraptor kitadaniensis and Fukuisaurus tetoriensis as well as an unnamed...

, Japan. Original products manufactured were transistor radios, radio cassette recorders, car stereos, and music centers. One of the world's largest OEM

OEM

OEM means the original manufacturer of a component for a product, which may be resold by another company.OEM may also refer to:-Computing:* OEM font, or OEM-US, the original character set of the IBM PC, circa 1981...

 television and video manufacturers that mostly supply to major-brand OEM

OEM

OEM means the original manufacturer of a component for a product, which may be resold by another company.OEM may also refer to:-Computing:* OEM font, or OEM-US, the original character set of the IBM PC, circa 1981...

 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

Thailand

Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...

.

The Orion Group employs in excess of 9,000 workers. It has factories and offices 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 proud of their achievement as being one of the top exporters in this 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 Broksonic, Memorex

Memorex

Memorex began as a computer tape producer and expanded to become a major IBM plug compatible peripheral supplier. It is now a consumer electronics brand of Imation specializing in disk recordable media for CD and DVD drives, flash memory, computer accessories and other electronics.Established in...

, Otake, Orion, and Sansui. For the North American market, Orion used to manufacture many televisions and VCRs for Emerson Radio

Emerson Radio

Emerson Radio Corporation was founded in 1948. It is one of the United States’ largest volume consumer electronics distributors and has a recognized trademark in continuous use since 1912...

 during the 80s and 90s for 10 years, but Emerson Radio

Emerson Radio

Emerson Radio Corporation was founded in 1948. It is one of the United States’ largest volume consumer electronics distributors and has a recognized trademark in continuous use since 1912...

 went bankrupt, and it was brought up by Funai

Funai

Funai Electric is a Japanese consumer electronics company headquartered in Daitō, Osaka. The company was founded in 1961. It owns the subsidiary Funai Corporation, Inc., established in the United States since 1991, to market and maintain Funai-licensed brands such as Sylvania, Emerson Radio,...

 in 2000, which Funai still owns today. During the 1990s, Orion was the exclusive supplier for Wal-Mart

Wal-Mart

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. , branded as Walmart since 2008 and Wal-Mart before then, is an American public multinational corporation that runs chains of large discount department stores and warehouse stores. The company is the world's 18th largest public corporation, according to the Forbes Global 2000...

 of discounted televisions, combos, and VHS VCRs under Orion and World brand names. In 2001, Orion teamed up with Toshiba

Toshiba

is a multinational electronics and electrical equipment corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. It is a diversified manufacturer and marketer of electrical products, spanning information & communications equipment and systems, Internet-based solutions and services, electronic components and...

 for manufacturing smaller CRT/LCD televisions and DVD/VCR combos for the North American market for eight years until 2009. In 2011, Orion purchased the JVC

JVC

, usually referred to as JVC, is a Japanese international consumer and professional electronics corporation based in Yokohama, Japan which was founded in 1927...

 trademark for branding, since JVC

JVC

, usually referred to as JVC, is a Japanese international consumer and professional electronics corporation based in Yokohama, Japan which was founded in 1927...

 has decided to exit the electronics business, and all JVC

JVC

, usually referred to as JVC, is a Japanese international consumer and professional electronics corporation based in Yokohama, Japan which was founded in 1927...

 televisions are now designed, produced, and supported by Orion from now on. Currently as of right now, Orion manufactures LCD/LED televisions and combo TVs for Hitachi

Hitachi

Hitachi is a multinational corporation specializing in high-technology.Hitachi may also refer to:*Hitachi, Ibaraki, Japan*Hitachi province, former province of Japan*Prince Hitachi and Princess Hitachi, members of the Japanese imperial family...

, JVC

JVC

, usually referred to as JVC, is a Japanese international consumer and professional electronics corporation based in Yokohama, Japan which was founded in 1927...

, Sanyo

Sanyo

is a major electronics company and member of the Fortune 500 whose headquarters is located in Moriguchi, Osaka prefecture, Japan. Sanyo targets the middle of the market and has over 230 Subsidiaries and Affiliates....

, and Sharp

Sharp Corporation

is a Japanese multinational corporation that designs and manufactures electronic products. Headquartered in Abeno-ku, Osaka, Japan, Sharp employs more than 55,580 people worldwide as of June 2011. The company was founded in September 1912 and takes its name from one of its founder's first...

, based on each company's OEM orders. Most units are being sold at Wal-Mart

Wal-Mart

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. , branded as Walmart since 2008 and Wal-Mart before then, is an American public multinational corporation that runs chains of large discount department stores and warehouse stores. The company is the world's 18th largest public corporation, according to the Forbes Global 2000...

 and Sam's Club

Sam's Club

Sam's Club is a chain of membership-only retail warehouse clubs owned and operated by Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., founded in 1983 and named after Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton. , the Sam's Club chain serves more than 47 million U.S. members...

 stores. Orion also operates Orion Sales, headquartered in Olney, Illinois, for the North American market, under its private-owned Sansui brand and, recently purchased, JVC

JVC

, usually referred to as JVC, is a Japanese international consumer and professional electronics corporation based in Yokohama, Japan which was founded in 1927...

brand.

External links

• Orion Electric (in English and Chinese)
• Orion Electric (in Japanese)
• Orion Electric Co., Ltd. (in English)
• Orion Group (in English)