View source for KYE Systems

{{Short description|Taiwanese computer peripheral manufacturer}}
{{Infobox company
| name=KYE Systems Group
| logo=Genius, KYE Systems Corp logo.svg
| logo_caption=Logo of KYE's Genius brand
| founded={{start date|1983}} in [[Taipei]], [[Taiwan]]
| founder={{ubl|James Jwo|Albert Chen}}
| industry={{hlist|Computer|electronics}}
| products={{hlist|[[Peripheral]]s|[[consumer electronics]]}}
}}
'''KYE Systems Group''', or '''KYE''', an abbreviation of '''Kung Ying Enterprises''' ({{zh|c=迎廣科技股份有限公司}}),<ref>{{cite book | last=Tolentino | first=Paz Estrella | date=2003 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1URcVy3mFQ4C | title=Technological Innovation and Third-World Multinationals | publisher=Taylor & Francis | page=303 | isbn=9781134945665 | via=Google Books}}</ref> is a Taiwanese computer [[peripheral]] manufacturer that designs and manufactures and markets [[human interface device]]s such as [[computer mouse|mice]] under their own brand, '''Genius'''. The company also manufactures on an [[Original equipment manufacturer|OEM]] basis for companies such as [[HP Inc.|HP]] and [[Microsoft]]. The company was founded in 1983 and has opened offices internationally.

==History==
[[File:Raton optico Genius - Genius optical mouse - 01.jpg|thumb|An early-2000s [[optical mouse]] built by KYE and branded as Genius]]
[[File:GeniScan GS-4500 With Interface Board.jpg|thumb|A KYE-built GeniScan GS-4500 [[hand scanner]]]]
KYE Systems was founded in 1983 in [[Taipei]], [[Taiwan]], by James Jwo (born {{circa}} 1959) and Albert Chen.<ref name=Kraar1998>{{cite journal | last=Kraar | first=Louis | date=August 6, 1998 | url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A127652812/GPS?sid=wikipedia | title=Taiwan se refugia en la tecnologia | trans-title=Taiwan takes refuge in technology | journal=El Norte | publisher=Agencia Reforma | location=Mexico City | page=14 | via=Gale}}</ref> The company originally did not manufacture [[peripheral]]s but was instead a [[systems integrator]], assembling [[IBM PC compatible|IBM PC clones]] for international export, as part of the company's [[start-up stage]].<ref name=Chia-Huang1999>{{cite book | last=Wang | first=Chia-Huang | date=1999 | url=https://d.lib.msu.edu/etd/47227/datastream/OBJ/View/ | title=Flying Together?: Taiwan and the Flying Geese Development Model | doi=10.25335/v8z9-w263 | publisher=Michigan State University | type=Doctorate thesis}}</ref>{{rp|289}} KYE was founded with [[US$]]40,000 in capital; Jwo described himself at first having "little money and few connections".<ref name=Kraar1998 /> In 1984, the company began developing computer [[peripheral]]s, namely computer mice,<ref name=Lin2013>{{cite journal | last=Lin | first=Shavonne | date=December 4, 2013 | url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/1751184055/ | title=Company Profile: KYE Systems Corp. | journal=Mobile Computing Research Report | location=Taipei | via=ProQuest}}</ref>{{rp|1}} for export. In 1985, they introduced their Genius brand of mice,<ref name=Kraar1998 /> which had become a popular brand in the United States by the late 1980s, according to ''[[PC Week]]''.<ref name=Staff_writer1989>{{cite journal | last=Staff writer | date=January 9, 1989 | url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A7253919/GPS?sid=wikipedia | title=KYE International Corp. | journal=PC Week | publisher=Ziff-Davis | volume=6 | issue=1 | page=97 | via=Gale}}</ref> In 1986, they established KYE International Corporation in the United States in [[Walnut, California]], filing its formal articles of incorporation in 1988.<ref name=Chia-Huang1999 />{{rp|290}}<ref name=Staff_writer1989 /> In 1990, the KYE International acquired [[Mouse Systems]], a pioneering peripheral manufacturer of [[Fremont, California]].<ref>{{cite journal | last=Valeriano | first=Lourdes L. | date=January 7, 1991 | url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/398195110/ | title=Other Asians Follow Japanese as Investors in U.S. Firms | journal=The Wall Street Journal | publisher=Dow Jones & Company | page=B2 | via=ProQuest}}</ref> This acquisition expanded KYE's dealer network and allowed them to absorb Mouse Systems' patents on optical mice technology.<ref name=Chia-Huang1999 />{{rp|290}}

KYE continued to expand their international presence in the 1990s, establishing marketing subsidiaries in the United Kingdom in 1991, in Germany in 1993, and in Hong Kong in 1995.<ref name=Chia-Huang1999 />{{rp|290}} Also in 1995, the company opened a large factory in [[Shenzhen]], China, to complement the company's manufacturing of mice in their home factory of [[Sanchong District|Sanchong]], Taiwan,<ref name=Chia-Huang1999 />{{rp|291}} which they purchased in 1987.<ref name=Lin2013 />{{rp|1}} In 1997, the assembly lines in Shenzhen were expanded to produce [[image scanner]]s, and in 1998, KYE opened up another factory in nearby [[Dongguan]], China.<ref name=Chia-Huang1999 />{{rp|291}}

KYE had their hands in the manufacturing of multimedia products in the early 1990s, producing [[graphics card]]s, and [[sound card]]s. A subsidiary devoted to publishing [[multimedia]] [[CD-ROM]]s was opened in 1993, but KYE folded it in 1996.<ref name=Chia-Huang1999 />{{rp|291}}

In 1997, the company introduced the Genius EasyScroll (also sold as the Mouse Systems ProAgio), the first commercially produced mouse with a [[scroll wheel]].<ref>{{cite web | last=Atwood | first=Jeff | authorlink=Jeff Atwood | date=May 16, 2007 | url=https://blog.codinghorror.com/meet-the-inventor-of-the-mouse-wheel/ | title=Meet the Inventor of the Mouse Wheel | work=Coding Horror | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140413013405/https://blog.codinghorror.com/meet-the-inventor-of-the-mouse-wheel/ | archivedate=April 13, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last=Mueller | first=Scott | date=2009 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=siK06htKzvEC | title=Upgrading and Repairing PCs | publisher=Pearson Education | page=1174 | isbn=9780768694895 | via=Google Books}}</ref> The company held the American patents on scroll-wheel technology through to at least 2009.<ref>{{cite web | last=Staff writers | date=May 22, 2009 | url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2009/05/22/genius-extends-line-of-racing-wheels-to-provide-gamers-with-the-ultimate-driving-experience | title=Genius Extends Line of Racing Wheels to Provide Gamers with the Ultimate Driving Experience | work=IGN | publisher=Red Ventures | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20180617030931/https://www.ign.com/articles/2009/05/22/genius-extends-line-of-racing-wheels-to-provide-gamers-with-the-ultimate-driving-experience | archivedate=June 17, 2018}}</ref>

KYE by 2010 had an [[Original equipment manufacturer|OEM]] roster of [[Hewlett-Packard]] (later [[HP Inc.]]), [[Samsung]], [[Acer Inc.|Acer]], [[Asus]], [[Best Buy]], [[Foxconn]], [[Microsoft]], and [[Logitech]].  Microsoft was KYE's largest client in 2010, accounting for 30&nbsp;percent of KYE's output; KYE built some of Microsoft's [[Xbox controller]]s and [[webcam]]s from their factory in Dongguan.<ref name=Protalinski2010>{{cite web | last=Protalinski | first=Emil | date=April 14, 2010 | url=https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2010/04/microsoft-investigates-as-sweatshop-spotlight-shines-on-supplier/ | title=Microsoft investigates as sweatshop spotlight shines on supplier | work=Ars Technica | publisher=Condé Nast | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111200130/https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2010/04/microsoft-investigates-as-sweatshop-spotlight-shines-on-supplier/ | archivedate=November 11, 2020}}</ref>

An April 2010 report by the [[National Labor Committee]] wrote of [[sweatshop]]-like conditions at the Dongguan factory, which had been recruiting 16- to 18-year-old women for [[seasonal industry|summer jobs]]. According to the NCL's report, the students worked 15-hour shifts, six or seven days a week, and during breaks rested in cramped dormitories. Pay for the students was set to 65¢&nbsp;per hour, with a 13¢&nbsp;deduction for cafeteria services.<ref name=Wingfield2010 /> A single line of 20 to 30 employees had to complete 2,000 Microsoft mice in 12 hours, with management raising the production goal after each shift. The NLC report wrote that the factory was crowded, with nearly 1,000 sharing a roughly 11,025 square foot room, and that workers were prohibited from conversing, listening to music, or using the bathroom outside of breaks. Following the report, Microsoft stated that they had begun taking "appropriate remedial measures in regard to any findings of vendor misconduct", in accordance with their code of conduct for vendors.<ref name=Protalinski2010 /> KYE Systems responded that they set their wages commensurate with Chinese labor regulations and called the report "a one-sided story without offering us a chance to explain".<ref name=Wingfield2010>{{cite journal | last=Wingfield | first=Nick | date=April 16, 2010 | url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/399104904/ | title=Microsoft Will Investigate Conditions at Chinese Plant | journal=The Wall Street Journal | publisher=Dow Jones & Company | page=B7 | via=ProQuest}}</ref> Chinese government officials on April 19, 2010, cited KYE with failing to register nearly 326 workers between the ages of 16 and 18 and imposing excessive amounts of overtime—280 collective hours a week, over the allotted 196. Officials forced KYE to rectify the cited complaints within two weeks.<ref>{{cite journal | last=Barboza | first=David | date=April 19, 2010 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/20/technology/20soft.html | title=Chinese Suppliers to Microsoft Cited for Labor Violations | journal=The New York Times | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100421022543/https://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/20/technology/20soft.html | archivedate=April 21, 2010}}</ref>

Between 2008 and 2012, KYE's revenue share in computer peripherals dropped from 69&nbsp;percent in 2008 to 43&nbsp;percent, while its revenue share in optical imaging and [[consumer electronics]] both grew, from 12&nbsp;percent and 17&nbsp;percent respectively in 2008 to roughly a quarter each in 2012. In the third quarter of 2013, the company reported an operating income of [[NT$]]64&nbsp;million.<ref name=Lin2013 />{{rp|6}}

==References==
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==External links==
* {{official website|https://global.geniusnet.com/}}

{{Electronics industry in Taiwan}}

[[Category:1983 establishments in Taiwan]]
[[Category:Computer companies of Taiwan]]
[[Category:Companies based in Taipei]]
[[Category:Computer companies established in 1983]]
[[Category:Taiwanese brands]]
[[Category:Computer hardware companies]]
[[Category:Computer peripheral companies]]
[[Category:Electronics companies of Taiwan]]