Hewlett-Packard dedicates Ark. service center, bringing 1,200 jobs and perhaps more ahead

HP marks opening of Ark. service center

CONWAY, Ark. — Marking the opening Wednesday of its technical service center in Conway, Hewlett-Packard Co. CEO Mark Hurd said the facility is part of the company’s strategy of raising its U.S. profile.

More than 600 workers are already on the job at the new facility, which is set to employ about twice that number, providing services for HP’s business and home customers. The site will also house sales representatives who handle large corporate accounts.

It fits in well with Palo Alto, Calif.-based HP’s overall strategy for the U.S., which now accounts for less than a third of the company’s annual sales.

“We want to increase our presence in the United States,” Hurd said. Before the ceremony, Hurd said he wants the company itself to expand in the U.S., not just its sales. “Growing jobs in the U.S. is an important strategy for us,” he said.

Hewlett-Packard has 172,000 domestic employees, 300,000 worldwide, and had 2009 revenue of $144.5 billion.

Twenty-six U.S. metropolitan areas were on HP’s list of possible locations, Gov. Mike Beebe said. When it came down to Arkansas, HP evaluated packages from Conway, Benton and Little Rock.

Addressing 800 workers and guests under a tent at Conway’s industrial park, Hurd emphasized that the jobs would have gone to another city if central Arkansas couldn’t supply workers with the talent it sought.

“There is no way for us to get what we need … without access to the very best people,” Hurd said. “We could have gone anywhere,” said Hurd, who is also HP’s chairman. “We chose Conway for a very simple reason.”

Beebe reiterated that an educated work force is the key to economic development, and said that having HP in Conway will help the entire state as Arkansas builds a reputation as a good home for high-tech companies.

Conway, which contributed $8 million in infrastructure, won out after its economic development organization kicked in the $28 million building. Beebe contributed $10 million from his Quick Action Closing Fund for more infrastructure. HP is also eligible for state performance-based tax breaks based on hiring.

Beebe said afterward that Arkansas is replacing the manufacturing jobs it keeps losing with better jobs, such as those at HP, where the average pay will be more than $40,000 per year. Southwest Power Pool Inc. announced last week it would add 200 jobs when it opens a new Little Rock headquarters. The state has also attracted a number of wind-energy related companies, which offer high-level manufacturing jobs, and Caterpillar is to open a road grader plant in North Little Rock.

Hurd said he hopes the Conway center will add more jobs in the years ahead. He noted the supply of workers that can be trained by the University of Central Arkansas and Hendrix College, both in Conway. The University of Arkansas at Little Rock is about an hour’s drive away.

“I come with a lot of optimism that we’ll do, A, what we committed to, and B, that as the company grows and is successful, Conway hopefully is going to turn into one of those sites that benefits from that performance and growth,” Hurd said.