Dell is adding to its U.S. manufacturing operations with a third location, this one in North Carolina, the company said today. This is the third expansion of its operations in the United States Dell has announced this year.

The North Carolina facility will produce desktop computers for Dell's U.S. East Coast business and consumer customers. It adds to Dell's considerable U.S. manufacturing presence in Middle Tennessee and Central Texas, and will help support growth in the United States. Through the first half of this year, Dell increased unit shipments by nearly 20 percent and increased its U.S. market leadership by two share points to more than 33 percent.

The new facility, scheduled to open in the fall of 2005 at a site to be determined in the Triad area, will employ about 700 in its first year of operation and scale to 1,500 employees within five years.

"The education system, commitment to businesses and proximity to a large and growing base of Dell customers were important in our decision to expand into North Carolina," said Kevin Rollins, Dell's chief executive officer. "Our growth, and the need for increased manufacturing, demonstrates the efficiency and effectiveness of our people and the direct way we do business."

Mr. Rollins said Dell's growth, at a rate much faster than the overall computer-systems market during the past several years, is the result of providing leading customer value and the efficiency of Dell's manufacturing operations. Companywide, recent employee-led process-improvement initiatives in a broad range of functions have saved Dell more than $2.5 billion annually.

The North Carolina plant is the third new facility Dell has announced this year in the United States; others include a customer contact center in Oklahoma serving the company's home and small business customers and a distribution center in Ohio for Dell's growing printing and computer peripherals business. The company in July also announced a customer contact center in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

"This is a very exciting announcement for the Piedmont Triad region," said Don Kirkman, President/CEO of the Piedmont Triad Partnership, the economic development and marketing organization for the 12-county region. "The fact that Dell chose the Triad for this project affirms our region's strategic location for advanced manufacturing and distribution companies serving East Coast markets."

The Piedmont Triad region, which is anchored by the cities of Greensboro, High Point and Winston-Salem, has long been a logistics center for not only North Carolina, but also the entire Eastern Seaboard. That reputation attracted FedEx Express, which is building a national air-cargo hub at Piedmont Triad International Airport. The Mid-Atlantic Hub will handle all packages that are originated and delivered on the East Coast, and will extend the workday for companies that ship their products overnight.