AVX Corporation
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Electronic components |
| Founded | 1972 |
| Founder | Marshall D. Butler |
| Headquarters | Fountain Inn, South Carolina , United States |
Area served | Worldwide |
| Products | Capacitors, ceramic capacitors, electrical connectors, varistors, thermistors, EMI filters |
| Owner | Kyocera Electronics Corporation |
Number of employees | 9,900 |
| Parent | Kyocera Electronics Corporation |
| Website | www |
AVX Corporation is a U.S.-based manufacturer of electronic components, with its main office located in Fountain Inn, South Carolina. It stands as the largest industrial employer within Horry County, South Carolina, employing close to 1,000 individuals in both Myrtle Beach and Conway. Globally, AVX’s workforce totals roughly 9,900 employees distributed across facilities in the United States, Europe, and Asia. The company functions as a subsidiary under the ownership of Kyocera Electronics Corporation.
The firm’s product portfolio includes items such as capacitors, ceramic capacitors, electrical connectors, varistors, thermistors, and EMI filters. AVX’s organizational structure comprises three main divisions: Passive Components, KED Resale, and AVX Interconnect (Elco).
In 2012, AVX achieved sales revenue amounting to $1.545 billion. Although capital expenditures declined by 34.6% to $28.9 million in 2010 compared to the previous year, earnings per share rose significantly by 78.7%, demonstrating enhanced profitability despite variable revenue patterns.
Effective October 1, 2021, AVX adopted the name KYOCERA AVX Components Corporation to better integrate with its parent company’s international business framework.
Products
AVX’s operations are segmented into three primary business units. The Passive Components division manufactures electrical parts utilized in automotive braking systems, mobile phones, copiers, hearing aids, and locomotives. KED Resale distributes Kyocera-manufactured products including ceramic and tantalum capacitors. The Connectors division caters primarily to automotive and healthcare sectors.
Prominent clients encompass Motorola, Nokia, and Robert Bosch GmbH. By 2011, approximately half of AVX’s sales were generated from the Asian market.
History
Established in 1972 as a subsidiary of Aerovox Corporation, AVX became the parent entity in 1973 under chairman and CEO Marshall D. Butler. Butler brought experience from the semiconductor sector and prior leadership at Alloys Unlimited Inc., steering AVX toward multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs) to capitalize on the expanding integrated circuit industry. An investment of $20 million resulted in sales reaching $95 million by 1979, exceeding initial growth expectations.
AVX expanded its presence into Europe and overcame entry barriers in Japan by forming a partnership with Kyocera Corporation in 1979 that ended restrictive licensing agreements. That same year saw the creation of a Japanese subsidiary.
Despite industry volatility causing sales to reach $234 million in 1984, revenues increased to $450 million by the end of the decade through innovation and acquisitions. By the late 1980s, European operations contributed about 25% of total sales. Following Kyocera’s acquisition of AVX for $267 million in 1990, AVX operated as a subsidiary within Kyocera’s corporate structure.
Butler stepped down as CEO in 1993 and was succeeded by Benedict P. Rosen. By 1995, AVX approached $1 billion in sales driven by growing demand from sectors such as personal computing, mobile communications, automotive, household appliances, and medical devices. The company expanded manufacturing worldwide and initiated connector production with support from Kyocera.
In 1995, Kyocera sold a 25% stake in AVX for $557 million to finance entry into the connector market and enhance capacitor manufacturing capacity. Despite facing industry challenges including the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis, AVX recovered by the year 2000 with manufacturing facilities established in El Salvador and the Czech Republic.
By fiscal year 2001, AVX operated 26 manufacturing plants across twelve countries with annual sales of $2.6 billion and a workforce of approximately 21,000 employees. The early-2000s economic downturn reduced revenues to $1.25 billion and headcount to around 12,500; production increasingly shifted toward facilities in the Czech Republic and China by 2005.
Following ongoing restructuring after the 2008 financial crisis, AVX closed multiple smaller plants including its flagship facility in Paignton, England in 2009 as part of cost-cutting measures. Later that year saw relocation of corporate headquarters to Greenville, South Carolina.
In 2011, AVX demolished its original Myrtle Beach plant while continuing nearby manufacturing activities. In 2018, it shut down an electronic component factory located in Olean, New York—a site associated with environmental contamination concerns.
Throughout its evolution, AVX has maintained competitive positioning within the electronic components sector through strategic leadership decisions and expansion of global operations.
Litigation
In 2007, property owners near the AVX facility in Myrtle Beach initiated legal action, claiming that trichloroethylene (TCE) contamination from the plant had diminished their property values and stalled condominium developments. The contamination was uncovered during pre-construction evaluations in 2006 by a consultant working for Horry Land Co. By 2009, AVX attributed part of the pollution to Myrtle Beach Air Force Base and subsequently included the Air Force as a defendant in related lawsuits. While AVX estimated that remediation efforts might require up to five years and refused to pay damages, landowners contested this, pointing to AVX’s ongoing cleanup activities spanning 28 years.
On February 22, 2010, U.S. District Judge Terry Wooten determined that the plaintiffs had sufficient grounds for a trial, which commenced in February 2011 in Florence, South Carolina. In May of that year, Judge Wooten held AVX accountable for the contamination; following this ruling, AVX acquired 21.5 acres of polluted property for $4.6 million.
AVX appealed the court’s decision concerning the liability of the Air Force. The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) recognized AVX’s partial culpability but also identified additional contributors to the pollution. AVX contested the credentials of a government expert specializing in groundwater flow, a challenge that affected an impending class-action lawsuit.
In October 2012, federal appellate judges signaled their intent not to overturn the prior ruling but granted AVX a new trial on the basis that an expert witness presented at the original trial lacked proper qualifications.
By July 2013, jurors were selected for a second case initiated by JDS Development seeking compensation for failed condominium projects allegedly caused by environmental contamination. AVX countered by attributing project failures to both economic downturns and pollution from the Air Force base. The jury awarded $750,000 in damages; however, AVX petitioned for a reduction, citing inadequate expert testimony.
In October 2014, AVX consented to pay $1.2 million to settle a class-action lawsuit involving owners of 42 contaminated properties filed nearly seven years earlier; final approval from property owners was still pending.
In August 2015, the South Carolina Supreme Court reversed a lower court’s dismissal and permitted property owners to pursue claims for "stigma damages," potentially prolonging litigation against AVX.