I took this as positive for this industry group.
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MILPITAS, Calif. and EVERETT, Wash., March 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Solectron
Corporation, (NYSE: SLR) a worldwide provider of customized electronics
manufacturing services to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), today
announced it will more than double its manufacturing capacity in Everett,
Washington. The move is part of Solectron's global expansion strategy to
better service the needs of its customers from multiple locations around the
world.
Solectron has begun construction of a 178,000-square foot campus in
Everett. The facility will be built on 20 acres in the "New Technology
Corridor" and is expected to open in August. The Company anticipates growing
its current Everett workforce by 100 percent from 563 associates to just over
1,000 associates within the next two years.
Solectron established a presence in Everett in 1993 when it acquired the
manufacturing assets of the printed circuit board assembly plant of
Hewlett-Packard's (HP) Lake Stevens Instrument Division. At the time,
73 associates worked in a 52,000 square foot facility.
"Solectron's Everett facility was initially established to service the HP
account, specifically by providing printed circuit board assembly," said Walt
Wilson, President Solectron Americas. "Today, we not only service the
original HP account but we have expanded our core offering and service OEM
customers in the instrumentation, control systems, medical, avionics,
electronic equipment, telecommunications and computer peripherals markets. By
expanding the Everett facility, we will be able to provide additional
manufacturing and design capabilities to support our growing regional customer
base."
The Everett facility provides customers with a full range of manufacturing
services including high-mix, very low to medium volume printed circuit
assembly and light mechanical assembly. Many of its customers use Solectron
as their virtual manufacturing partner for design, product prototyping,
material supply, manufacturing, distribution, order fulfillment and
end-of-life production. Solectron also provides its customers in the Pacific
Northwest faster access to the global marketplace by transferring their
production from Everett to other Solectron facilities worldwide which are
closer to their end distribution channels.
"With the new facility we will be able to offer our customers expanded
capabilities to improve our value proposition to both our current and future
partners," said Louis Bieck, corporate vice president and general manager of
Solectron's Washington facility. "We are excited about our prospects for the
future as we continue to invest in this rapidly growing region."
The Washington facility, just like all of Solectron's facilities
worldwide, adheres to high quality standards. In 1996, the site received its
ISO 9002 certification. The facility was recently visited by the Malcolm
Baldrige National Quality Award examiners as part of the extensive review
process that helped Solectron win the 1997 Baldrige award for manufacturing.
The Everett site was also recently named a candidate for the coveted
Washington State Quality Award and will be undergoing a formal site visit in
April as part of the application process.
Founded in 1977, Solectron Corporation ( www.solectron.com ) is a
worldwide provider of pre-manufacturing, manufacturing and post-manufacturing
services to leading electronics original equipment manufacturers. Solectron
offers its customers competitive outsourcing advantages such as access to
advanced manufacturing technologies, shortened product time-to-market, reduced
cost of production and more effective asset utilization.
The Company has received more than 140 quality and service awards from its
customers in addition to the 1997 and 1991 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality
Awards. Solectron is the first company to win the Malcolm Baldrige National
Quality Award for Manufacturing twice in the 10-year history of the national
program. Solectron has 20,000 employees in 18 manufacturing facilities
worldwide with more than four million square feet of manufacturing capacity.
Revenues for fiscal year 1997 were $3.7 billion.
SOURCE Solectron Corporation
/CONTACT: Michael E. Donner, Director, Corporate Communications,
408-956-6688, or Louis Bieck, General Manager, Washington, 425-335-3137, both
of Solectron Corporation/
/Company News On-Call: prnewswire.com or fax, 800-758-5804,
ext. 803620/
/Web site: solectron.com
(SLR) |
