Last year, the corporation invested further in producing components for mobile phones, moving away from the powerful D-RAM computer chips.

BBC: Motorola sign

Almost all the successful companies began by producing at least some components for others (Sony still does) but were equally determined to carve out names for themselves by making distinctive products.

ECONOMIST: Chinese business

At the Shanghai motor show in April, Toyota president Akio Toyoda announced that the company was studying producing in China key components of its hybrid vehicles (HV), such as batteries and motors.

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The Germans and other allies wish to sell the Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact nations machine tools with the capability of producing, for example, advanced aviation components with an accuracy of plus-or-minus five microns (two ten-thousandths of an inch) or better.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Center For Security Policy

But the maker of International brand heavy trucks and buses did make an important strategic move Thursday by announcing it will purchase diesel engines and after-treatment components from its rival Cummins, which is already producing engines that comply with emissions rules set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

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Many factors go into the cost of producing a product, and in the past many companies became enamored with the cheap prices they could have parts and components produced, completely ignoring the total cost calculation.

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