2017 IW 1000: The Biggest Tech Manufacturers of the Information Age

Dec. 15, 2017
Computers (and tablets, and phones) already grab much of our attention. They might some day grab the top spot on our IndustryWeek 1000 list of the world’s largest public manufacturers ... just not yet.

Computers are king in so many corners of the world, just not on the IndustryWeek 1000.

Not yet, at least.

Computers & Other Electronics Products filled 94 spots on our annual list of the world’s 1,000 largest public manufacturing companies by revenue — an incredible number, but still short of Chemicals (95) and Petroleum & Coal Products (113). They accounted for 18 of the top 100 spots on the list, too, behind only, yeah, Petroleum & Coal Products (22). And they grabbed nine of the top 50 spots, behind Motor Vehicles (12) and, you guessed it, Petroleum & Coal Products (18).

Petroleum & Coal Products will still drink your milkshake, to borrow a line from the ruthless fictional oil baron Daniel Plainview. But Computers & Other Electronics Products will help you order the milk, the ice cream, the hot fudge and the kitchen mixer to put it all together.

And they’ll help you build your business. That’s important, too.

We won’t detail all 94 of the tech leaders who cracked the IW 1000 this year, just the top 10. Among those biggest of the big, one jingoistic SPOILER ALERT: The United States still reigns supreme, with four companies in the top 10, just edging out Japan (3), with three other countries filling out the rest of the list. How do they rank? That’s just a few clicks away …

About the Author

Matt LaWell | Staff Writer

Staff writer Matt LaWell explores news in manufacturing technology, covering the trends and developments in automation, robotics, digital tools and emerging technologies. He also reports on the best practices of the most successful high tech companies, including computer, electronics, and industrial machinery and equipment manufacturers.

Matt joined IndustryWeek in 2015 after six years at newspapers and magazines in West Virginia, North Carolina and Ohio, a season on the road with his wife writing about America and minor league baseball, and three years running a small business. He received his bachelor's degree in magazine journalism from Ohio University.

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