Dell is considering opening a second European production
plant to support its steady growth on the continent.
The US computer maker is looking to expand beyond its
manufacturing plant in Limerick, Ireland, to help meet growing
European demand for its computer products, a company spokesman
said.
The new European plant would follow a move last month to add a
third major manufacturing facility in the US. The North Carolina
plant joins manufacturing operations in Texas and Tennessee.
Dell also operates production facilities in China and
Malaysia.
The spokesman declined to comment on where the European plant
would be located and when it would go into operation.
Speculation about France being the preferred site swirled after
Michael Dell noted that this was the only country in "the top 10"
where a competitor, Hewlett-Packard, is number one.
Some analysts view high-cost France as a highly unlikely
contender.
"If you're interested in keeping your cost structure down, it
makes no sense to open a plant in France," said Brian Gammage,
principle analyst at Gartner.
"In fact, it's difficult to see how Dell could incur anything
apart from disruption by trying to add additional capacity in
Western Europe."
Gammage points to Eastern Europe as a more likely contender.
Demand for computers is growing steadily in this region and
local labour costs are much lower to those in Western Europe as
well, according Gammage.
"Most of Dell's leading competitors are already manufacturing
the majority of their desktop in either the Czech Republic or
Hungary," he said. "These markets already have a well-trained
workforce."
John Blau writes for IDG News Service