HP, Foxconn to build manufacturing plant in Russia

Hewlett-Packard and Foxconn held a groundbreaking ceremony in St. Petersburg for the planned construction of a 32,000m? manufacturing facility for the production of HP PCs in Russia. The plant is in part of a joint venture agreement between the companies to invest $50 million in Russia.

HP intends to be a major PC customer for Foxconn at the new facility and expects to ship up to 40,000 consumer and commercial desktop PCs per month for the Russian market from the facility.

Foxconn expects that in the future the new manufacturing facility will produce goods for HP as well as other companies.

"Russian demand for the latest PC technology is developing quickly, and HP sees increasing interest from consumer and commercial customers," said Eric Cador, senior VP, personal systems group—Europe, Middle East and Africa, HP. "This project will help us meet local customer demand by enabling HP to deliver products quickly and competitively in Russia."

HP's presence in the Russia began almost 40 years ago with the opening of its Moscow office. Today, HP has 10 offices across the country and a research and development lab in St. Petersburg.

"Foxconn's construction of this facility marks our initial entry into Russia," said Terry Gou, chairman and CEO, Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd. "We are confident that our cooperation with HP in this venture will support and strengthen HP in serving the needs of the Russian market. St. Petersburg's strong talent pool, strategic location and government support make it a wonderful location for our operations."

The new PC operation is part of HP's strategy to respond to increasing customer demand in fast-growing regions of the world. The planned St. Petersburg facility will complement a new HP-owned operation in India, as well as Foxconn facilities serving HP in the Czech Republic and Brazil.