Motorola claims the Moto X is the first smartphone ever to be assembled in the United States, and on Tuesday, CNET got a look inside the Fort Worth, Texas, factory where the device gets made. The Moto X facility employs more than 2,000 people in a space used to make Nokia cell phones many years ago. The Moto X operation takes up an area roughly equivalent to three football fields, with room to expand.
Batches of Moto X components are put together and then sent down a long assembly line that grows more colorful as custom backplates and accents are added toward the end of the process.
Moto X production began in earnest at the Texas factory on August 6 and has ramped up to 100,000 units of the customizable smartphone per week, according to Mike McNamara, CEO of Flextronics, the contract manufacturer that runs the Fort Worth facility.
The Moto X factory floor operates 24 hours a day on 12-hour shifts. While the factory floor was about half empty when CNET visited, the busy side of the room was filled with enough production lines to fill a space roughly the size of a football field.
Google Chairman Eric Schmidt and Texas Governor Rick Perry were among the guests attending Tuesday's official opening ceremony at the Flextronics factory in Fort Worth, Texas, where the Moto X is being assembled.
The custom wood backing for the Moto X reveals itself to be more than a unicorn. Texas Governor Rick Perry cheekily asked if he could have his "made from mesquite."
Motorola flew its newly revamped colors, as well as those of the Lone Star State, at the official opening ceremony held at the Flextronics factory in Fort Worth, Texas, where the Moto X is being assembled.
A sign outside the Flextronics facility makes it clear that the first phone from Google's Motorola is being made in America. Motorola says the Moto X is the first smartphone ever to be assembled in the United States.
