Hewlett-Packard Japan Ltd will transfer the final assembly of its PCs destined for the Japanese market from Singapore to Tokyo by 1999. HP hopes that the shift to domestic production will double sales of its Vectra Series desktop PCs, NetServer PC servers and Kayac PC workstations and allow tailoring of products to specific customer demands, according to Asian news sources. The move will also reduce delivery times from the traditional two week maximum to less than half a week. Assembly in Japan of PC Vectra Series and Kayac workstations will start in February and NetServers in May of 1999. Semi-finished products will be shipped to HP’s distribution center in Hino city, Tokyo which will be expanded to cope with final assembly. The move was also prompted by OEM deals with Oki electronics Co Ltd and Nihon Unisys Ltd signed recently.
