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Lenovo Announces Official Opening of U.S. PC Manufacturing Line in N. Carolina

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Lenovo, the world's second-largest PC vendor, hosted a grand opening ceremony today attended by North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory and other prominent local dignitaries at its first U.S. personal computer production facility in Whitsett, N.C.

With the return of PC manufacturing to the U.S., the company is adding 115 new manufacturing jobs in North Carolina and is on track to fully ramp up production by the end of June. Lenovo's bold move to develop the long-term strength of the American PC market defies the decades-old trend of US electronics firms relying on overseas facilities for manufacturing and other outsourced functions. The 240,000-square-foot Whitsett facility, located approximately 10 miles east of Greensboro, serves four critical business functions: Logistics Center, Customer Solutions Center, National Returns Center, and now U.S. Manufacturing Production.

The new U.S. PC manufacturing line began operations in January 2013, and is capable of producing some of Lenovo's newest and most innovative Think-branded products, including ThinkCentre M92p Tiny desktop, ThinkPad Tablet 2, ThinkPad Helix convertible ultrabook and more. The new manufacturing line arms Lenovo with the capability to deliver products to customers with even greater efficiency and reliability, in addition to offering an expanded and more valuable set of PC-related services, including custom product configurations, imaging, asset tagging, bundling of products, and more.

Governor Pat McCrory, and other elected officials were on site to participate in Lenovo's announcement to foster job growth in North Carolina and witness firsthand the company's investment in its aggressive strategy to expand its in-house manufacturing capabilities around the world through its first U.S. PC production line. Currently, Lenovo's operations are estimated to positively increase state output by more than $1 billion, as reported by the recent economic contribution analysis from the North Carolina Department of Commerce. Lenovo plans to continue its focus on driving product innovation, investing in the U.S. market and supporting business growth in North Carolina now and in the future.

To further celebrate and mark the continued growth of the company's U.S. PC manufacturing line and its presence in North Carolina, Lenovo donated and presented 36 ThinkCentre Desktops made in Whitsett to the Greensboro YMCA to be used for youth development and education programs.

"Lenovo has achieved record growth and market share in the U.S. PC market, and the Whitsett manufacturing facility will enable us to further expand our presence here," said Yuanqing Yang, chairman and CEO, Lenovo. "The facility is a demonstration of our commitment to and confidence in the North American market, and we see tremendous opportunities for the continued growth and development of our manufacturing footprint here in the United States."

"Our in-house manufacturing strategy gives us control over both product development and supply chain operations. This type of vertical integration is a source of competitive advantage for Lenovo. With the PC manufacturing facility in the U.S., we are able to provide an enhanced customer experience by offering specialized services that our North America customers value," said Gerry Smith, the former head of Lenovo's Global Supply Chain and now president, Lenovo Americas.

"I am proud that Lenovo is continuing to invest in North Carolina, bringing needed jobs to the Greensboro area and providing a foundation for future economic growth in our state," said Governor Pat McCrory. "Lenovo has been producing innovative and exciting products around the world and now they are in North Carolina's backyard and we're fortunate to have them."

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Congratulations North Carolina! (as long as your people, the workforce, is treated better than in the Infamous Chinese Empire).
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I wonder how much this new factory cost the tax payers of NC and how many actual jobs will be created for U.S. citizens vs. imported folks from China?
 
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Makes sense? They’ll import the components from China... then more often than not land them in the port of LA/Long Beach, Ca. Truck them across the country, assembly them, to finally truck like half of it back across the Rockies... You'd have to give them huge incentives to consider the economics. :ohwell:
 
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It would be a lot easier to ship the parts to Wilmington, NC and truck them up I-40 to Whitsett.

I wonder why Lenovo didn't use the former Dell facility near High Point instead. :confused:
 
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Let see there’s the Suez Canal… or all the way around the horn of Africa. Paying for passage through Panama Canal is getting better. I suppose lot of small tightly pack components and such it could be okay for most of what they’ll need. Other than ATX chassis, and those are less of come trend. Paying the extra $1,000 (it used to be like twice the price) and 2 week for containers would have merit for the volume they can build.
http://www.imsw.com/downloads/powerpoint/2012_Global_Logistics_Trends.pdf

That’s why they continue hope the world heats-up to open the Northwest Passage for you all, but by then would Wilmington, NC or many of the port we know today still be there?
 
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I wonder how much this new factory cost the tax payers of NC and how many actual jobs will be created for U.S. citizens vs. imported folks from China?

Always a pessimist somewhere. If the deal was not right for both Lenovo and NC, it would not have happenned.

Let see there’s the Suez Canal… or all the way around the horn of Africa. Paying for passage through Panama Canal is getting better. I suppose lot of small tightly pack components and such it could be okay for most of what they’ll need. Other than ATX chassis, and those are less of come trend. Paying the extra $1,000 (it used to be like twice the price) and 2 week for containers would have merit for the volume they can build.
http://www.imsw.com/downloads/powerpoint/2012_Global_Logistics_Trends.pdf

That’s why they continue hope the world heats-up to open the Northwest Passage for you all, but by then would Wilmington, NC or many of the port we know today still be there?

Imports from China do not go through the Suez, Panama Canal or NW Passage. The manufacturing facility would undoubtably be for US distribution(don't know if they plan on shipping overseas from US). Containers from China are around $8000 now too BTW. Containers from US to other countries vary in price depending destination.
 
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Imports from China do not go through the Suez, Panama Canal or NW Passage.
Ah, the two were sarcasm... But how do you not figure the Panama canal? Sure more is going through Port of Manzanillo, Mexico and up to Texas, but for expensive and desirable computer parts it's chancy move such containers by truck. Trains can be more secure but, can be more of a logistic set-back at the border and switching yards in Texas.

The manufacturing facility would undoubtably be for US distribution (don't know if they plan on shipping overseas from US).
I'm talking the component that they'd assemble... come from the Pacific Rim. And most of what they build would be for North America (inc Canada/ Mexico), while some might go to the Europe

Containers from China are around $8000 now too BTW.
Is that what it is landed on the East Seaboard? I know that like 2 year ago a standard GW container at LA/LB was like $3600-3800.
 
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