The company moves at what it terms "Dell speed" or "Dell-ocity" and is still in growth mode in middle Tennessee.

The need for speed

Speed is the name of the game when it comes to today's expanding and relocating companies. Cutting red tape. Shovel-ready sites. Ready-to-go shell buildings. Trained workers on standby.

Meet a company's demands, double-time, or be left in the dust.

Nowhere is this need for start-up speed more critical than in the computer and electronics industry, which is towering tall on a foundation of phenomenal growth and rapid change.

Currently, Dell employs about 1,900 Tennesseans between the Lebanon facility, a temporary call center office in Nashville and sales people throughout the area.

In addition, a 300,000 square foot manufacturing facility and a 360,000 square foot office building are under construction on land near the Nashville International Airport.

The 450 people working at the temporary call center will eventually move to the completed office building near the airport, while the Lebanon facility will remain in operation at its current site. The new manufacturing facility near the airport will have two lines capable of producing Dell desktop products as well as Inspiron notebooks.

The company is hiring for 400 positions it plans to fill at the new office, as well.

"I'm very proud of our Tennessee team for ramping up our operations so quickly and grateful to the state and local officials who have helped make it happen," said Michael Dell, chairman and chief executive officer.

Other business considerations for the company revolved around the availability of a skilled work force, proximity to the company's American customers and access to a rapid distribution system.

"We looked for an expansion site that had the types of transportation infrastructure that would allow us to reach our customers quickly," said Mark Drury, manager of public affairs for Dell. "Middle Tennessee, with three major interstates connecting in Nashville, put us within a day's drive of 67 percent of our customer base, which is important for a company that prides itself on fast delivery."

Suppliers take their cues

Of course, one of the greatest benefits to a project like Dell's is the ripple effect it ultimately creates.

Almost immediately after Dell's initial announcement, suppliers started showing up in the Nashville area. As with many industries which thrive on just-in-time deliveries, a nearby supplier network is essential, and locating near customers is an industry trend.

In Austin, Texas, there are 540 suppliers to support Dell's operations. About 200 of them are within a few miles of the Dell facility, but many are within a few hundred yards.

Now, suppliers are making the trek to the Nashville area to keep pace with Dell's growing operations.

Austin Foam Plastics was the first to arrive to nearby La Vergne, Tenn., and the company had already undergone expansion by November of 1999.

Other suppliers like Brandt & Hill Inc., PalEx and Lightning Logistics have moved into the area to support Dell, and many more are sure to come.

That same need to be close to a customer was the catalyst for Mark Container Corp. to open a location in the Richmond, Va., area.

The company, which manufactures packaging materials and corrugated boxes, opened a facility in Henrico County in late summer last year and employs approximately 25 people.

"We were attracted to Greater Richmond because of its expanding high-tech industry and because we are a Hewlett-Packard supplier," said Barry Johnson, marketing vice president for Mark Container.

Hewlett-Packard has had operations in Henrico County since 1997.

Starting something big

Now that Dell has planted a flag in Tennessee, it seems that the state is destined to become home to the next high-tech hotbed.

On April 4, computer maker Hewlett-Packard revealed that it would move into Tennessee, virtually making it Dell's neighbor.

The company plans to relocate several of its manufacturing, distribution and returns processing activities from its West Coast operations to La Vergne. The project is expected to eventually bring 1,600 new jobs to the area.

A number of activities will take place at the new HP facility in conjunction with manufacturing and distribution partners Celestica and Irish Express, which had existing operations in La Vergne.

HP will take computer orders from customers, Irish Express will hunt down the necessary parts and deliver them to Celestica, which will then assemble the product and ship it to the customer.

Installing a human element in the wired workplace

While logistics and proximity to suppliers certainly play an impressive role in where these high-tech companies locate or expand, the work force issue is perhaps the ultimate top priority.

"These companies need an adequate number of people with an aptitude for these kinds of jobs," said Jim Alexander, economic development manager with Praxair Semiconductor Materials in Richardson, Texas. "Work force development issues are going to be primary."

For Dell's Tennessee operations, work force was a critical consideration and the company has been pleased with its success in the south.

"We were looking for a location with a productive, motivated work force and middle Tennessee has filled the bill well," said Dell's Drury. "Many of our manufacturing employees came in without a strong knowledge of computers or computer assembly, but were able to learn very quickly.

"From the third quarter to the fourth quarter, we saw a 47 percent jump in productivity at our plant in Lebanon, and we were able to ship 1 million systems out of the plant in less than six months.

"At our call center, many of our new hires had customer service experience, but not necessarily technical expertise. We discovered they were able to train very quickly and within the first six months of our call center operations, we took more than 300,000 calls for service.

"We've asked our employees in Middle Tennessee to train and to learn continuously, and they have embraced that idea," said Drury.

Just finding the number of people necessary is important for all computer and electronics firms, and in particular semiconductors, which can hire upwards of 1,000 people.

"There is fierce competition between states and counties to attract chip manufacturing facilities," said Daven Oswalt, director of communications for the Semiconductor Industry Association in San Jose, Calif. "In evaluating sites, these companies look at many factors. Most importantly, they need a strong educational system to train workers.

"Along with this, they need an abundant labor supply which a strong educational system produces," he said.

While the rapid growth of the Phoenix, Ariz., area has been garnering much attention from companies on the outside looking in, Intel has put the local work force to work.

The computer chip giant, situated on the outskirts of Phoenix in Chandler, announced in January that it has plans to grow.

Intel revealed that it would make a $2 billion investment to add buildings and people - 1,000 more people to be exact - over the next five to eight years. The expansion will take center stage on Intel's Ocotillo campus in south Chandler.

Production at the new "fab" is slated to begin by September of 2001. The plant will be the world's most advanced chip production facility.

Schools fuel high-tech growth

"If you look at silicon hotbeds around the country, you will see that companies cluster around certain areas because of the ability to hire workers, share information, supplies and technology, and reap the benefits of a strong educational system," said SIA's Oswalt.

Universities and technical schools are the anchors for blossoming high-tech hot spots.

The Florida technology corridor, for example, includes 30 communities and boasts two universities, 19 four-year and community colleges, and 17 vocational/technical schools and learning centers.

The corridor, which stretches along the state's west coast through Orlando and Polk County to Volusia County, is home to 530 of Florida's 730 microelectronics firms.

Uniroyal Technologies was one of the most recent additions to the region. The company located a manufacturing facility in Brandon, near Tampa, where it produces LEDs, or light-emitting diodes.

The revolutionary high-brightness LED technology is attractive to industries such as automotive and computer, and to companies like commercial airplane manufacturers and producers of traffic lights and signs.

Approximately 130 people will eventually be employed at the new $25 million Uniroyal facility.

Business parks allow for rapid start-up

High-tech business parks with proximity to universities are another draw for computer and electronics investments.

In March of 2000, Motorola broke ground on a facility that will anchor a new high-tech research and technology park being built on the University of Illinois campus in Champaign-Urbana.

The park plans to target tenants in the areas of engineering, information technology and biotechnology.

Motorola's 72,000 square foot research and development center is anticipated to be the catalyst for 220 new high-tech jobs.

And a national consortium of advanced technical centers dedicated to preparing students for high-tech jobs is the driver behind a new technology center under construction in Virginia Beach, Va.

The new Advanced Technology Center is a joint venture between Tidewater Community College and Virginia Beach Public Schools.

Virginia Beach high schools will implement "feeder programs" designed to steer students into the Advanced Technology Center curriculum, which will be available to 11th and 12th graders.

The program is designed to ensure that a capable work force is in place for future information technology and high-tech jobs in Virginia.

A full menu of considerations

Since attracting the best and the brightest is critical to the high-tech industry's success, the quality of life issue factors into companies' site decisions.

For Compulutions, which recently selected Spokane, Wash., for its new manufacturing and strategic account development center, quality of life was a key consideration.

"We believe Spokane is a perfect environment for our employees to live, work and raise families," said Cris Hollingsworth, president and CEO of Compulutions.

The high-tech manufacturer of specialty hardware systems is expected to generate up to 200 new jobs for the region.

According to Hollingsworth, the company also considered Spokane's skilled labor force and cost of doing business in its decision.

"I think that quality of life is now, and increasingly going to be, a very important site selection factor," said Praxair's Alexander. "It is the one site selection factor that has a daily impact, whether you are at the office or at home."