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Two companies bearing the Flextronics name have existed in this business-one barely escaped bankruptcy; the other is an industry titan.
Michael Marks knows both quite well.
He joined the first, Flextronics Inc., in 1989 to run its California operation. At the time, the company was known as a pioneer for establishing plants in such places as Singapore and China.
But it wasn't long before the company ran into severe financial problems-so severe that its executives sold the Asian facilities to investors and dismantled the U.S. operations.
Marks left that Flextronics, only to re-emerge as a key figure in a group that acquired the Asian operations in 1993 and launched Flextronics International Ltd.
Six years later, Marks' perseverance, and his belief that the outsourced-manufacturing concept would catch on, have paid off big. The company, which is based in Singapore but run out of San Jose, has seen its sales grow 60% a year.
That growth has been achieved by bringing on top customers...