Flex to Manufacture Lenovo Enterprise Products for EMEA

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Lenovo will begin manufacturing enterprise products for EMEA customers in Europe – including x86 servers, and the full range of storage and networking products for the data center environment. EMEA customers and partners will benefit from faster delivery times and more flexibility to meet their needs when manufacturing partner Flex begins production of Lenovo's x86 server products in Hungary.

The move to manufacture enterprise products in Europe will allow Lenovo to provide the best possible service to its EMEA customer and partner base, whilst reinforcing its commitment to lead the enterprise computing space.  Production will begin in Summer 2016 and will complement the existing Flex production of the ThinkServer product line as well as a number of other products.

A Flex facility in Hungary, dedicated to Lenovo, will produce the full x86 range, including system assembly, the complete range of storage and networking options, and fully integrated racks in order-to-configure custom-build systems.

Flex has been a strategic partner to Lenovo for six years and is already involved in the production of a range of products, including PCs, phones, ThinkServers and tablet repairs. In fact, the Sarvar site in Hungary has just manufactured and shipped its five millionth PC for Lenovo in EMEA.

The relationship with Flex is a core part of Lenovo's strategy for a balance of owned/in-house manufacturing alongside third party contract manufacturing, ensuring the company can reap the best of outside innovation to drive improvements in manufacturing.

The decision to move manufacturing to Europe was based on the benefits arising from establishing production closer to Lenovo's core customer and partner base. Manufacturing in the European Union will enable an improvement of up to five days on delivery times to customers (depending on the country) and lower operation costs (e.g., reduced freight costs) that can be passed on to customers and partners. Production of x86 servers for EMEA customers will still continue in China allowing channel partners to enjoy further cost benefits by using ocean freight.

Lenovo is dedicated to leading the enterprise and data center product industry and European manufacturing will improve time to market, enabling the company to become more competitive. EMEA enterprise customers will receive the same market-leading products faster and more efficiently, but with no loss in quality.

"Transferring production to Europe is a strategic move for us which will create tangible benefits for our customers," said Wilfredo Sotolongo, EMEA vice president and general manager Data Center Group, Lenovo. "Our customers have been very positive about our decision to manufacture in Hungary. We believe that this will only enhance our capabilities in the enterprise market as we will be able to offer an even greater level of service to our EMEA customers."

"We take great pride in the strategic partnership we have built with Lenovo over the years, producing a wide range of products," said Janos Lang, Hungary vice president of operations, Flex. "We are thrilled to expand our partnership to include manufacturing Lenovo's enterprise products in Hungary for its EMEA customers."