SAO PAULO, Brazil – November 18, 2013: – Lenovo(HKSE: 992) (ADR: LNVGY), the world’s largest PC vendor, today announced it will invest approximately US$100M in a state-of-the-art software research and development (R&D) center located in São Paulo, Brazil. The facility, which will provide an estimated 100 jobs, is Lenovo’s first R&D center dedicated to software development for Lenovo’s Enterprise Product Group (EPG).
The Lenovo R&D center will be installed at the University of Campinas (Unicamp) Science and Technology Park located roughly 100km (60 miles) from São Paulo City.The project was supported by Investe São Paulo, the states’ investment promotion agency, affined to the Secretariat for Economic Development, Science and Technology.
“This is an exciting move for Lenovo as it affords us the opportunity to expand our global enterprise product group footprint, while investing heavily in research and development,” said Roy Guillen, vice president and general manager, Enterprise Product Group, Lenovo. “São Paulo, Brazil, is the latest addition to our diverse global footprint of enterprise design centers located in the United States, Taiwan and China. Lenovo is committed to building the premier R&D organization in Enterprise and our strategy to invest in local talent pools is fundamental to this commitment and is the right approach to improve innovation.”
The São Paulo R&D center is the first of its kind for Lenovo and will focus on innovation in enterprise software solutions and high-end servers, storage and cloud technologies. The center will greatly expand Lenovo’s global footprint while providing innovative, high-value software solutions and services to global markets.
In the coming years, the facility has the potential to generate an estimated 220 high-level development jobs, supporting both the Enterprise Product Group as well as Lenovo’s storage offering – LenovoEMC. Operations are scheduled to begin as early as January 2014.
“Campinas City has a strong calling for the development of IT projects, not only because of its vast industrial park but also because of its higher education and research facilities. Our city has a qualified work force, appropriated logistics and a reliable infrastructure, all important factors for the success of this project, which the city welcomes with enthusiasm”, said Jonas Donizette, mayor, Campinas.
The support offered by the Government of São Paulo State, through Investe SP, and other agencies dedicated to funding research and development, largely impacted Lenovo’s decision to invest in São Paulo State. “São Paulo is responsible for 72 percent of all the public investments made in Brazil every year”, explained Luciano Almeida, president of Investe SP. “The high quality of scientific production and skilled human capital have consolidated the region as an R&D hub not only for the state, but for the country as well”.
Trust in São Paulo
In July 2012, the president of Lenovo Brazil, Dan Stone, announced to Governor, Geraldo Alckmin, that the company would invest US$30M at Itu city to install a factory and a distribution center for the manufacturing of several models of personal computers. The plant currently has 700 employees and will have over 2,000 when it reaches maximum capacity.
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About Lenovo
Lenovo (HKSE: 992) (ADR: LNVGY) is a US$34 billion personal technology company – the largest PC maker in the world and an emerging PC Plus leader – serving customers in more than 160 countries.
Dedicated to exceptionally engineered PCs and mobile internet devices, Lenovo’s business is built on product innovation, a highly-efficient global supply chain and strong strategic execution. Formed by Lenovo Group’s acquisition of the former IBM Personal Computing Division, the Company develops, manufactures and markets reliable, high-quality, secure and easy-to-use technology products and services. Its product lines include legendary Think-branded commercial PCs and Idea-branded consumer PCs, as well as servers, workstations, and a family of mobile internet devices, including tablets and smart phones. Lenovo, a global Fortune 500 company, has major research centers in Yamato, Japan; Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, China; and Raleigh, North Carolina. For more information see www.lenovo.com.
About the Unicamp Science and Technology Park
Unicamp’s Science and Technology Park was born from a proposal of the Inova Unicamp Innovation Agency presented to the Secretary of Development of São Paulo State Government. The Scientific and Technology Park encourages collaborative research that aims to provide solutions for regional and national problems.
Unicamp is one of the top five universities in Brazil, with over 50,000 students, teachers and researchers on campus. The university is composed of roughly 23 teaching and research centers, 21 interdisciplinary centers, 2 technical schools and several support units that combined develop thousands of research projects per year. Additionally, Unicamp has the highest graduation rate – around 55% of the total students, and 28% of master and PhD students.
About Investe SP
Investe SP is the gatekeeper for international companies looking to open facilities in the State of Sao Paulo that differ from enterprises already located in the State. The agency works in conjunction with the economic development Secretary to provides strategic information and support to aid investors in finding the best locations for their business free of charge. For more information, please see www.investe.sp.gov.br.
