Milliyet – Supplying its desktop markets in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and North Africa from Foxconn’s factory in Corlu, Tekirdag in northwestern Türkiye, American tech giant Hewlett-Packard (HP) is looking into setting up a printer and cartridge manufacturing plant in the country.
“A hugely successful investment, the Foxconn plant in Türkiye exports 80 percent of its products to regional markets”, according to Filiz Akdede, HP Türkiye’s Personal Systems and Printing Group Country Manager, who said that a capacity increase in the Corlu plant was in the works.
“The success of the Corlu plant has led to production shifts from other plants. Impressed by the Turkish plant’s performance as a regional production and export base, HP is looking into establishing a printer and cartridge factory in the country”, the HP Türkiye executive said. Noting that reaching a decision to establish a manufacturing plant was a lengthy process that could take years, Akdede said that the Fatih Project – the Turkish government’s nationwide high-tech education initiative that involves the supply of millions of tablet PCs to pupils in public schools – was closely monitored by HP headquarters and regarded as an important indicator of the country’s potential. “As HP Türkiye, we are lobbying for a printer & cartridge plant”, she remarked.
HP has been the leading brand in Türkiye’s PC and printer market for the last 12 years.
Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Foxconn began the production of HP-branded desktop PCs in its Corlu plant in 2011. Implemented at a cost of USD 60 million, the investment project has created 400 jobs to date, which will increase to 2,000 once the plant reaches full operational capacity.