Foxconn Technology Group has purchased a building in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as its North American headquarters, as part of the company, Apple Inc.’s main product supplier, moves to establish manufacturing facilities in the U.S.

In a move that could be described as making Apple American-made again, Foxconn is starting with the head office ahead of the construction of a $10 billion manufacturing plant 30 miles south in Racine County. It will make liquid crystal display panels for commercial and consumer uses, including Apple iPhones.

The factory will initially employ 3,000 people when it opens and eventually as many as 13,000 people in a state that has an unemployment rate of 4.8 percent, statistically higher than the current U.S. unemployment rate of 3.8 percent.

Despite the massive injection of local jobs into the state along with the return of Apple components being made in America again, Wisconsin Democrats oppose the establishment of the Foxconn factory, saying that the amount the state is paying to attract the company is too high.

Along with the establishment of its headquarters in Milwaukee, Foxconn also announced a partnership with the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee that will give five engineering students the opportunity to intern at the local factory. That internship will be followed by a trip to Taiwan where they will work on research projects and visit the company’s world headquarters.

Apple, famous for being established in a garage in Silicon Valley, has said that it would return at least some of its manufacturing to the U.S., along with committing to return $252 billion in cash it holds in foreign countries following the Trump administration’s tax package. That commitment includes a $75 billion direct contribution to American manufacturing and a $350 billion contribution over five years.

Photo: iphonedigital/Flickr