Lenovo, the world’s second-largest PC vendor, hosted a grand opening ceremony on June 5 in Whitsett. The event was attended by Governor Pat McCrory and other prominent local dignitaries. This North Carolina location is the company’s first personal computer production facility to be located in the United States.
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 U.S. 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 this past January, 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 N.C. 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. Read more.
Lenovo cuts ribbon on Whitsett manufacturing facility (Triangle Business Journal, June 5)