Research Triangle Park, N.C. – October 2, 2012 – Defying a trend that has seen electronics manufacturing jobs migrate overseas for more than two decades, Lenovo (HKSE: 992) (ADR: LNVGY) announced today that it will start up a U.S. personal computer production line in Whitsett, N.C., near Greensboro. The company anticipates that the move will create 115 new manufacturing jobs in North Carolina, where the workers will build Think-branded notebook and desktop PCs, tablets, engineering workstations and servers for sale to domestic businesses, government and education customers, as well as consumers.
“Lenovo is establishing a U.S. manufacturing base because we believe in the long-term strength of the American PC market and our own growth opportunities here,” said Yuanqing Yang, chairman and CEO, Lenovo. “As Lenovo expands globally, we are establishing even deeper roots in each major market. In addition to localized sales and marketing teams, in our major countries we are establishing an even stronger manufacturing footprint, investing in R&D and ensuring that we hire top local talent. This global reach with local excellence helps us become even faster, more innovative and more responsive to our customers around the world.”
“Lenovo’s decision to create electronic manufacturing jobs in North Carolina is a tremendous vote of confidence in the great skills and productivity of our state’s workforce,” said Gov. Perdue. “We have a strong track record of commitments to education, training and economic policies that promote growth in our state’s manufacturing sector. This decision by Lenovo clearly demonstrates that North Carolina is an attractive place where leading global businesses can thrive.”
“I am very pleased with this announcement, and I congratulate Lenovo on their growth and on making the wise decision to invest in North Carolina and in our state’s workforce,” said U.S. Senator Richard Burr. “The trend lately has been for manufacturing jobs to be created abroad, but some of the brightest and best trained talent in these high-tech fields can be found right here in America. I am proud of Lenovo for recognizing the talent and the potential here in North Carolina, and I look forward to even more growth in this sector in the years to come.”
The new U.S. PC manufacturing line currently is under construction and scheduled to open early in 2013. It will reside within Lenovo’s recently expanded 240,000-square-foot U.S. distribution center in Whitsett, N.C., approximately 10 miles east of Greensboro. Hiring for the 115 manufacturing and related positions should begin later this year.
The U.S. manufacturing line will be capable of turning out some of Lenovo’s newest and most innovative products, such as the recently announced ThinkCentre M92p Tiny desktop and ThinkPad Tablet 2. Lenovo believes that having a manufacturing capability in the U.S. can provide the capability to deliver products to customers even more quickly and reliably in many situations, while offering an even broader and more valuable set of PC-related services.
The U.S. PC production line is the latest investment in Lenovo’s aggressive strategy to expand its in-house manufacturing capabilities around the world, which the company believes will speed product innovation and support rapid business growth. Over the past two years, Lenovo has invested in new plants and manufacturing joint ventures in China, Brazil and now the United States to produce PCs and mobile Internet devices such as smartphones.
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About Lenovo
Lenovo (HKSE: 992) (ADR: LNVGY), the world’s second-largest PC vendor, is a $US30 billion personal technology company serving customers in more than 160 countries. Dedicated to building exceptionally engineered PCs and mobile Internet devices, Lenovo’s business is built on product innovation, a highly-efficient global supply chain and strong strategic execution. Formed by Lenovo Group’s acquisition of the former IBM Personal Computing Division, the company develops, manufactures and markets reliable, high-quality, secure and easy-to-use technology products and services. Its product lines include legendary Think-branded commercial PCs and Idea-branded consumer PCs, as well as servers, workstations, and a family of mobile Internet devices, including tablets and smart phones. Lenovo has major research centers in Yamato, Japan; Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, China; and Raleigh, North Carolina. For more information see www.lenovo.com.