The processing industry is an important economic engine in almost every country. In the United States alone, manufacturers directly employ more than 12 million workers and provide an additional 7 million jobs in component manufacturing and other industries. Globally, manufacturing is a $44 trillion industry that supports more than 360 million jobs.
There are many different types of manufacturing, from clothing to chemicals to electronics. The importance of manufacturing will only continue to grow as the world shifts to sustainable production practices and new technologies, such asartificial intelligenceandBlockchain.
Today we will learn about the largest manufacturingPursuecurrently worldwide, sorted by annual turnover. Each of these companies has its own niche, with some focusing more on specific products and others acting more like general manufacturers producing a variety of goods. Without further ado, let's dive in.
Nr. 20: The Coca-Cola Company – 37,27 Milliarden US-Dollar
The Coca-Cola Company is a world-renowned company that produces refreshing soft drink concentrates as well as some alcoholic beverages. The soft drink Coca-Cola was invented in 1896 by pharmacist John Stith Pemberton.
He and Asa Griggs Candler incorporated the company on January 27, 1892; 130 years ago. As of 2022, the company employs a total of 96,200 people.
This company has over 500 products in over 200 countries. The most popular products include Coca-Cola, Appleteaser, Aquaactive, Ades, Draft Cola, Dasani Water, Fanta, Georgia, Ice Dew and many more.
#19: Tesla – 53,8 Milliarden US-Dollar
Teslais one of the young companies that has been running at full speed since it started in July 2003. In addition, as of April 2022, the company employed 110,000 people across three continents.
Tesla has six major factories in the United States, Asia and Europe. However,Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, indicated that they aim to have a Tesla factory on every continent.
Tesla is an automotive and renewable energy company that makes solar roofs and electric vehicles. It launched its first car model (Tesla Roadster) in 2009. After that, it made the Model S sedan in 2012, the Model X SUV in 2015, the Model 3 sedan in 2017, and the Model Y crossover in 2020.
Tesla sold 936,222 cars worldwide in 2021 and has sold three million vehicles through August 2022, with the Model 3 leading the way in sales.
#18: Unilever - $57.87 billion
On September 2, 1929, Lever Brothers (British soap manufacturers) and Margarine Unie (margarine manufacturers) merged to form Unilever. The company is headquartered in London, UK. Unilever sells its products worldwide with 149,000 employees.
This company manufactures consumer goods such as beauty products, condiments, ice cream, laundry detergent, and personal care products. These products fall into three categories: Grocery & Refreshment, Beauty & Personal Care, and Home Care.
The company's leading brands include Sunlight, Omo/Persil, Rexona, Lifebuoy, Axe, Ben & Jerry's, Dove, Heartbrand ice creams, Lux, Knorr, Sunsilk, Magnum and Hellmann's.
17th place: BASF – $69.46 billion
BASF is the largest multinational chemical producer in the world. The company's headquarters are in Ludwigshafen, Germany. BASF was founded on April 6, 1865 by Friedrich Engelhorn. As of August 2022, the company has 111,047 employees.
BASF's products and services include catalysts, coatings, crude oil, natural gas exploration and production, performance chemicals, plastics and plant technology.
#16: IBM - $73.62 billion
International Business Machines (IBM) is a multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York City.Charles Ranlett Flintfounded the company on June 16, 1911 as the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company. Later in 1924 it changed its name to IBM. Its products are in circulation in 177 countries.
The most importantIBMProducts include robotics, blockchain, computer hardware, quantum computing, consulting, software, artificial intelligence and automation. Its services include outsourcing, management services and professional services. Its brands include IBM Cloud, IBM Storage, ILOG, Websphere and Watson.
#15: Nissan - $74.17 billion
Nissan is a global automotive company headquartered in Nishi-Ku, Yokohama, Japan. The company was founded on December 26, 1933. Nissan had 136,134 employees in 2021.
The Company's products include luxury vehicles, automobiles, forklifts, outbound engines and commercial vehicles. The main car brands are Nissan, Infiniti, Datsun and Nismo.
#14: Intel - $77.88 billion
Intel is a multinational technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California. Gordon Moore andRobert Noycefounded Intel on July 18, 1968. The company employed 121,100 people as of 2021.
IntelProducts include modems, flash disks, vehicle automation sensors, systems-on-chips (SoCs), network interface controllers, central processing units (CPU), microprocessors, motherboard chipsets, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chipsets, solid-state drivers and embedded GPUs.
Nr. 13: General Electric – 79,62 Milliarden US-Dollar
General Electric (GE) is a multinational conglomerate headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. GE was founded in New York City on April 15, 1892 by J.P. Morgan, Thomas Edison and Charles A. Coffin.
The company had 168,000 employees in 2021. General Electric's products include aircraft engines, wind turbines, electrical distribution, finance, healthcare and software.
Nr. 12: Sony Group Corporation – 84,89 Milliarden US-Dollar
Sony Group Corporation is a multinational technology company headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The company was founded on May 7, 1946 by Masaru Ibuka and Akio Morita.
Sony is the largest manufacturer of electronic products and the largest video game company. Its products include robots, television broadcasts, computer hardware, consumer electronics, films, semiconductors, video games, telecommunications equipment and music.
Their services include credit financing, banking, advertising agencies, networking, insurance and financial services.
#11: Johnson & Johnson - $93.77 billion
Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is a multinational manufacturer of medical devices, consumer products and pharmaceuticals. The company was founded in January 1886 by Robert Wood Johnson I, Edward Mead Johnson and James Wood Johnson.
It is headquartered in New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA. J&J had 144,500 employees in 2021. The company's products include Clean & Clear, Zyrtec, Calpol, Johnson's Baby and Prezista, among others, which are distributed worldwide.
China Minmetals is a metals and minerals trading company headquartered in Beijing, China. The company was established in 1950 by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of China.
The company employed 177,000 people in September 2022. Its products include iron, steel, copper, zinc, lead, finance, marine, real estate, mining and commodities. Its products and services are available in 34 countries and regions worldwide.
#9: Mitsubishi Motors - $121.54 billion
Mitsubishi Motors is a multinational automobile manufacturer. Mitsubishi was founded on April 22, 1970. The company employed 32,171 people as of May 13, 2021.
As of 2016, Nissan owns 34% of Mitsubishi, forming the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance. The Company's main products are passenger cars, commercial vehicles, compact cars and SUVs.
#8: Honda - $124.24 billion
Honda is a multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Soichiro Honda founded the company in October 1946 and founded it on September 24, 1948. As of June 2022, the company had 204,035 employees.
Its products are sold worldwide. These include automobiles, motorcycles, scooters, water pumps, luxury vehicles, commercial vehicles, robotics, jet aircraft, jet engines, rotary milling machines, outboard motors and electric generators.
#7: General Motors - $127.004 billion
General Motors(GM) is a multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, USA. GM is the largest auto industry in the US and was the largest in the world for 77 years until it lost to Toyota in 2008.
The founders of GM are William C. Durant, Frederic L.Smith and Charles Stewart Mott. They founded the company on September 16, 1908. As of December 2021, GM employed 157,000 people at its plants and subsidiaries worldwide.
General Motors manufactures automobiles, commercial vehicles, and automobile parts. There are four divisions of GM products: Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC.
#6: Ford - $136.3 billion
Ford is a global automotive company headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, USA. Its founding father was Henry Ford, who introduced it on June 16, 1903. Ford manufactures commercial vehicles and automobiles under its flagship Ford brand. It also manufactures luxury vehicles and sells them under the Lincoln luxury brand.
In addition, Ford has formed partnerships with other automakers such as Jiangling Motors in China and Aston Martin in the UK with 32% and 8% stakes respectively. Ford Motors also owns Brazilian SUV maker Troller.
The company has five brands: Ford Blue, Ford Drive, Ford Model E, Ford Credit and Ford Pro. The Company's products include pickup trucks, automobiles, luxury vehicles, SUVs, commercial vehicles and auto parts. Its products are known and used worldwide.
5th place: Mercedes-Benz Group – 175.83 billion US dollars
Mercedes-Benz is an automobile brand that was founded on June 28, 1926. The headquarters of the Mercedes-Benz Group is located in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. This company manufactures luxury and commercial vehicles.
In 2018, Mercedes-Benz had a high premium share with 2.31 million cars sold. The Mercedes-Benz Group is currently the thirteenth largest automobile manufacturer in terms of sales.
The company sells automobiles of the following brands worldwide: Mercedes-Benz, Mercedes-Maybach, Mercedes-AMG and Mercedes-Benz Bank.
4th place: Samsung Electronics – $200.74 billion
Samsung Electronics is the second largest technology company headquartered in Yeongtong-gu, Suwon, South Korea. Samsung Electronics was founded on January 13, 1969 and its products are well known all over the world. This company employs over 280,000 people at its assembly plants in 74 countries.
Samsung deals with electronics, home appliances, robotics, medical devices, artificial intelligence, semiconductors, information technology, automation and the Internet of Things.
3rd place: Volkswagen Group – $253.97 billion
Volkswagen is an automobile manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. The German Labor Front founded the Volkswagen Group in 1937. The company became known for its Volkswagen Beetle (Volkswagen) with its largest market in China.
The Volkswagen vehicles became popular during World War II as they proved reliable with the Nazi German military. After the war, the company introduced the Volkswagen Type 2 vehicles, consisting of vans, pick-ups and campers.
In 1961, VW introduced four Type 3 vehicle models, the Fastback, Karmann Ghia, notchback and Variant. In 1969, the company introduced the Type Four (411 and 412) models. Then, in 1971, it introduced the Super Beetle, the Type 131, with a curved windshield and padded dashboard.
generations
In 1973, Volkswagen launched the Type 181, the military vehicle. Since 1974, Volkswagen has produced eight generations of the Volkswagen Golf. The first generation of the VW Golf (Rabbit in the US and Canada and Caribe in Latin America) was produced between 1974 and 1983. The second VW Golf (hatchback/Jetta sedan) started in October 1983 and 1991.
Between 1991 and 1999, the company presented the third Golf generation. The fourth generation Golf was introduced in North America in 1999. The fifth generation Golf Jetta and the sixth generation Passat came between 2005.
The seventh generation Golf (small family car) was first produced in 1974 and has since appeared in various body styles. The Volkswagen Passat, which consists of large family cars, has been sold since 1973 and is the eighth Golf generation. Since 2017, Volkswagen has shifted its focus to manufacturing electric vehicles.
2nd place: Toyota Group – $256.72 billion
The Toyota Group is a multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. The company was founded on August 28, 1937 by Kiichiro Toyoda. It made its first product, the Type A engine, in 1934. In 1936 it made the Toyota AA its first passenger car.
As one of the largest manufacturing companies in the world, Toyota has four main car brands: Hino, Lexus, Toyota and Daihatsu. In addition, the company has sold 40 hybrid vehicle models worldwide.
In 2012, the company announced that it had produced its 200 millionth vehicle. Toyota also enters into partnerships with other car manufacturers. It holds 20% stake in Subaru Corporation, 4.9% in Suzuki, 5.1% in Mazda, 2.8% in Yamaha Motor Corporation and 2.8% in Panasonic.
#1: Apple - $365.82 billion
Apple is a multinational technology company that provides online services and manufactures consumer electronics and software. The company began as Apple Computer Company on April 1, 1976 and became Apple Computer, Inc. in 1977.
The founders of the company areSteve Jobs, Ronald Wayne and Steve Wozniak. Apple is headquartered in California in the United States.
Apple is currently the largest mobile phone maker in the world with revenue of $365 billion in 2022 and a 23% market share. The company's main products include iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, AirPods and Mac. The company also offers services like App Store, Apple Music, Apple Card, Apple Pay, and Apple TV+.
The world's largest manufacturers: summary
| Rang | Pursue | annual sales |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Apple | $365.82 billion |
| 2 | Toyota Group | $256.72 billion |
| 3 | Volkswagen Group | $253.97 billion |
| 4 | Samsung-Electronics | $200.74 billion |
| 5 | Mercedes Benz Group | $175.83 billion |
| 6 | Ford | $136.3 billion |
| 7 | General Motors | $127.004 billion |
| 8 | Honda | $124.24 billion |
| 9 | Mitsubishi | $121.54 billion |
| 10 | China Minmetals | $102.01 billion |
| 11 | Johnson & Johnson | $93.77 billion |
| 12 | Sony | $84.89 billion |
| 13 | General electronics | $79.62 billion |
| 14 | Intel | $77.88 billion |
| fifteen | Nissan | $74.17 billion |
| 16 | IBM | $73.62 billion |
| 17 | BASF | $69.46 billion |
| 18 | Unilever | $57.8 billion |
| 19 | Tesla | $53.8 billion |
| 20 | Die Coca Cola Signature | $37.27 billion |
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FAQs
What are the biggest manufacturing industries? ›
The largest manufacturing subsector in the U.S. is computer and electronic products followed by chemical manufacturing and food, beverage, and tobacco products, as seen in Figure 2.8 and Figure 2.9 from AMS 100-49.
What is the manufacturing industry Your answer? ›What is the manufacturing industry? The manufacturing industry is the sector of the economy that is responsible for the transformation of raw materials and components into finished goods for sale. It encompasses everything from the production of finished products to the assembly of components.
Who are the biggest manufacturers 2022? ›As of 2022, Apple, Saudi Aramco, and Microsoft hold the top three positions, each with market caps in excess of $2 trillion. Technology and energy companies rank among the most valuable companies in the world today.
What is the largest manufacturing company in the US? ›...
Manufacturing in the US - Number of Businesses 2005–2028.
| Year | Value |
|---|---|
| Feb 1, 2017 | 596,515 |
| Feb 1, 2018 | 600,255 |
| Feb 1, 2019 | 597,885 |
| Feb 1, 2020 | 597,401 |