Many people think of Conway's newest neighbor as a major PC or printer company, but what exactly does Hewlett-Packard do?
HP announced Thursday it will locate a state-of-the-art customer service and technical support center in The Meadows Office and Technology Park on Sturgis Road. The facility will employ 1,200 with salaries starting in the low $40,000 range.
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Plans for a new highway exit around the Gold Creek area of Hwy 365 are in the works. The new Hewlett-Packard facility in the Meadows Technology Park is leading officials to create a new access to the property on Sturgis Road. The new exit would create highway access within two miles of the park. LIBERTY PARKS PHOTO
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According to the HP Web site, the company has three business groups:
The Personal Systems Group, which focuses on business and consumer PCs, mobile computing devices and workstations.
The Imaging and Printing Group, which handles ink jet, LaserJet and commercial printing, printing supplies, digital photography and entertainment.
The Technology Solutions Group, which deals with business products, including storage and servers, managed services and software.
A spokesperson for the company said Friday it is too early to know exactly what mix of the three business groups will be based in the Conway facility.
According to a statement in the company's 2008 second quarter results, "HP focuses on simplifying technology experiences for all its customers from individual customers to the largest businesses. With a portfolio that spans printing, personal computing, software, services and IT infrastructure, HP is among the world's largest IT companies, with revenue totaling $110.4 billion for the four fiscal quarters ended April 30, 2008."
Brad Lacy, president and CEO of the Conway Area Chamber of Commerce and the Conway Development Corporation, said of HP, "They are truly a global leader in information technology. The majority of their business is outside the United States, which puts them in a very good position to grow. They're a giant."
HP's Fortune 500 ranking is number 14. It has about 172,000 employees and serves more than one billion customers in more than 170 countries on six continents, according to its Web site.
Hewlett-Packard was founded in Palo Alto, Calif., in 1939 by Stanford University classmates Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard. The company's first product, an audio oscillator (an electronic test instrument used by sound engineers) was built in a garage in Palo Alto. Such test instruments were the company's early inventions, followed by personal systems such as calculators and eventually personal computers. HP is a world leader in imaging and printing products and continues to innovate each year, according to its Web site.
Also according to the HP Web site, HP is:
Number 1 globally in the ink jet, all-in-one and single-function printers, mono and color laser printers, large-format printing, scanners, print servers and ink and laser supplies.
Number 1 globally in desktop PCs, notebooks and workstations, and number 2 globally in Pocket PCs.
Number 1 globally in blade, x86, Windows, Linux, UNIX and high-end UNIX servers and number 2 globally in total disk storage systems.
Lacy said Friday that HP executives were pleased with the reception they received at the Conway announcement on Thursday.
"They were very pleased with the reception, just the excitement and the sheer number of people that showed up yesterday. That just paints a picture of a community that really wants them here."
He said this will hopefully put the city and state on the map for site selectors.
"What we hope it's going to do, not just for Conway but for the state of Arkansas, is to put us on the radar screen of site selectors across the United States. Those are the people who assist companies like HP in making these decisions. They're the first interface between a community and a company."
Lacy added many areas of the local economy will benefit.
"Any time you have an announcement of this size it's going to have an impact, whether it's real estate or small business or restaurants. A lot of things will see a positive impact from this."
(Staff writer Rachel Parker Dickerson can be reached by e-mail at rachel.dickerson@thecabin.net or by phone at 505-1277. Send us your news at www.thecabin.net/submit)
