Don't confuse Kyocera's ceramics with teacups and pottery. The company, which began producing fine ceramic materials in 1959, makes a wide range of industrial ceramics and other electronic and semiconductor components for customers in the telecommunications, automotive, medical, electronics, and industrial manufacturing industries, among others. In addition to its ceramics and components business, the company's equipment lines include innovative cartridge-free office document equipment and military-spec ruggedized mobile phones. Kyocera has about 220 subsidiaries and affiliates around the world, including (in North America) Kyocera International, Inc., Kyocera Document Solutions America, Inc., Kyocera Precision Tools, Kyocera SGS Precision Tools, Inc., Kyocera Mexicana S.A. de C.V., and Kyocera AVX Corporation.