Lenovo to build some laptop and desktop systems in the US

Jos

Posts: 3,073   +97

Here’s something you don’t hear very often: Lenovo, the Chinese computer manufacturer has announced it will open a production line in the US where it will build some of its signature Think-brand notebook and desktop systems. The company is starting small, plunking down $2 million to expand its existing order fulfillment and distribution center in Guilford County, and expects to employ 115 workers once the manufacturing facility opens next year.

Although the vast majority of its machines will likely continue to be built at their plants in China and Mexico, the new facility is reportedly intended  to satisfy stateside customers who “demand for flexible supplies and product customization.” An added benefit will be to raise Lenovo’s profile in the U.S., where it ranks fourth in market share by shipment. But Lenovo says the effort will be the start of something bigger, rather than a one-time made-in-America publicity effort.

Lenovo North America President David Schmoock said that "having a facility here in a home country is a differentiator that people will value.” He also likened the move to environmentally-friendly standards, telling the Wall Street Journal that “being green is not necessarily the lowest-cost option for a lot of companies, but you do it because your customers and partners value you being green."

American rivals including HP, Dell and Apple no longer produce any machines in the United States.

Google also dabbled with US-manufacturing recently, announcing plans to build its Nexus Q streaming media player in San Jose, California. Those plans were short-lived, however, as the project was put on indefinite hold before the device’s commercial launch in order to "work on making it even better.”

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Won't work. Nobody will pay more for the "Made in USA" label. But it surely will be hellova more expensive to make.

Really, this doesn't make sense. There must be an under-the-table agenda, like US government offered tax cuts to them or some other shady deal went on.
 
That's your money :)

However in business there is no place for sentimentalism ;)

I don't think there is that huge of brand loyalty in the PC market, especially to the average user. I do think that if a potential US customer sees two laptops that are generally equal in specs (and even build quality), they very will might pick the US made product. The question is, will they pick the US made product over the product sold by a US company?
 
My post was with reference to the original post I made earlier where I said the customer won't pay more for the "Made in USA" label (barring Matthew here and USA patriots alike). See my first post above.

In case of equal prices all bets are off, one buys whatever label he trusts most.
 
To be clear, it has less to do with patriotism and sentimentalism and more to do with supporting businesses that have the greatest overall impact on me. That has practically nothing to do with patriotism, because you can break it down on a smaller scale. If I have to choose between buying tomatoes from a guy across town and my next-door neighbor, I'd pick the latter. I care more about his well-being and establishing a relationship with him, because it affects me the most. Likewise, if I have a problem with my tomato, I'd rather deal with my neighbor than some guy in town, and I'd rather deal with some guy in town over a stranger in Mexico. That's ridiculously oversimplified, but I'm just saying, there's more to the equation here than merely chasing the cheapest stuff possible, and although I'll pay a premium for local goods and services, I won't pay triple purely because it ships with a "made in USA" sticker.
 
To be fair, they are just assembling machines(While in the US they put board A from china into board B from Korea), all of the parts will still be from china, japan, etc...
 
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