Solectron Timisoara's management has begun an internal investigation into the high level of theft of products manufactured for export that are being stolen from its factory premises and sold at city markets, landing the company with several hundred thousand euros in losses.
Hundreds of products are being removed from the factory - from mobile phones and handsfree and bluetooth accessories to hard drives, receiver parts and a series of subassemblies for electronic equipment.
"It's like cancer. Not a day goes by without something being stolen," one company official said.
He says he visited markets himself to check if the company's products were indeed being sold. "These are products manufactured at Solectron! I identified them as such by the product codes. We even know the day and hour when they were made, as well as the batch, though we cannot identify the thief."
A handsfree kit sells for 100,000 ROL at the flea market and a bluetooth kit goes for 20 euros (as opposed to 110-120 euros in a specialised store), while a Philips mobile phone worth 120-140 euros can be found for little more than 60 euros.
"Both phones and handsfree kits are selling like hot cakes," a woman with a market stand said.
The Solectron official believes that regular networks have developed inside the company that are engaged in a competition over who "patents" new ways to remove various components and finished products from the factory.
One of the methods involves the quality control operator deliberately rejecting a number of products as defective. Such products are discarded, but take a different route than the usual rejects. Someone in the network receives the "reject" and hides it behind a plasterboard wall in their department's bathroom, for example. A janitor then collects the items hidden in the bathroom and takes them out of the factory.
Employees of the catering company that supplies daily food to Solectron's 3,000 employees is also under suspicion. Some of the stolen products could be being taken out of the factory together with dirty dishes.
Another method takes advantage of the lack of metallic parts in a handsfree or bluetooth kit, meaning that they cannot be picked up by the metal detectors installed at exits to company. Members of a third network are reportedly working unhindered, enjoying the protection of some members of the security staff.
transilvania@zf.ro
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