11/29/2007 09h42

Warmed up PC demand leads to production fever

Valor Econômico - 11/29/2007

The strong demand registered by the Brazilian market of computers in the last months - mainly for the equipment sold in retail -, is leading manufacturers to invest massively in the production of such equipment. From multinationals such as Dell and Hewlett-Packard (HP) to national companies of different sizes, the rule has been to build new plants or increase the existing facilities. The two latest investments, announced yesterday, strengthened this panorama. While Sony presented its first line of Vaio notebooks made in the country, Philips announced its entrance in the market of portable computers. The detail that provides the dimension of the ebullition of the local market is that the Philips PCs will be produced and sold exclusively in Brazil. In the third quarter alone, the sales of computers have increased by 26.7%, according to the consulting from IDC, with 2.3 million units sold. Notebooks have advanced by 142.4%, to 420 thousand units. Until the end of the year, IDC estimates, 8.9 million machines will be sold, including desktops and portable PCs. It seems this rhythm will keep moving faster in the next years, a good piece of news for those who invest in the production. The forecast is that the desktops will lose their strength, but the search for notebooks will be big enough to guarantee the vitality of the businesses. Since the market will need increasingly bigger volumes, the manufacturers are expanding the shop floor. In May, Dell opened a unit in Hortolândia (SP), in which it invested R$ 130 million (US$ 74.7 million). For 2008, the forecast is that the investments will exceed this year's, said Dell's CEO Raymundo Peixoto early this week. HP, Dell's main international competitor, made a move in September, when it announced a production agreement with Foxconn, from Taiwan, specialized in on-demand manufacturing. With two plants in the country - in Manaus (AM) and Indaiatuba (SP) - Foxconn opened its third unit, in Jundiaí (SP), with an investment of R$ 40 million (US$ 23 million). The Brazilian companies follow the route of the investments, under two distinct fronts. One is formed by companies that are well-known by the public, which compete directly with the international companies. That is the case of Positivo, leader of the Brazilian market, according to IDC. The other front consists of newer companies, which work with smaller volumes, but see in the generous growth of the market the opportunity to take advantage of previously inexistent opportunities.