Acer To Build First European Factory in Wales; Computer Hardware Maker Is Latest Company Drawn to Wales' Growing Digital Corridor.

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 15, 1997--Acer Peripherals Inc., one of the world's top computer hardware makers, will base its first European manufacturing plant in a $42 million factory complex in Wales, the Welsh Development Agency announced today.

The company, a division of the $5.8 billion Acer Group, the world's fourth-largest computer maker, expects to begin producing monitors at the Welsh facility in Cardiff by the end of 1998. The monitors will be sold throughout the United Kingdom and continental Europe.

Acer said it selected Wales over locations in Holland, Scotland, and England because it has become a technology supplier hotbed.

"One of the prime factors in our choice of location was the supply infrastructure within the region," said Acer President K Y Lee. "We will be able to buy all our key components from Welsh-based suppliers."

Wales is home to such leading monitor suppliers as Ocean Technical Glass, a global supplier of glass for monitor tubes; LG Electronics, Sony and Panasonic, all leading makers of cathode ray tubes; four of the largest makers of plastic monitor housings in the UK, and other component companies.

The company was also influenced by its need to be near major ports since the bulk of its output will be exported to continental Europe. Acer, which is based in Taiwan, has recently undertaken a significant expansion in the U.S. and Europe, unlike several other Asian companies that have recently slowed their international growth.

"Acer's decision to base its European manufacturing operations in Wales is a tribute to the dramatic evolution of our economy," said Derek Perkins, president of North American operations for the Welsh Development Agency, Wales' economic development authority. "In the last 20 years, Wales has attracted an increasing number of advanced technology and consumer electronics companies who need access to the potent European market. Wales offers the skilled workforce and ongoing support these companies require to succeed."

In the past two years, the high-tech sector has grown significantly in Wales:

-- Last month, Matsushita Electric (UK), makers of Panasonic products, announced it was investing nearly $25 million to establish a European research and development center in Cardiff, to reduce the company's reliance on Japanese R&D.

-- LG Electronics recently began shipping computer monitors from its new assembly plant in Wales, just outside Cardiff.

-- Sony this year completed the eighth expansion of its Welsh television and computer monitor plant -- already one of its largest facilities in Europe. The company currently produces more than one million television sets and monitors in Wales each year.

-- Last year, LG Group announced the largest foreign investment in Europe with its selection of Wales to establish a $2.5 billion manufacturing complex -- its first outside Asia. The company is currently building a wafer fabrication facility outside Cardiff.

-- Newport Wafer-Fab unveiled a $380 million expansion program to build a state-of-the-art wafer fabrication facility, with a peak capacity of 10,000 wafers per month.

-- Align-Rite International Inc. recently completed an $18 million expansion of its Welsh photomask manufacturing facility in Bridgend, Wales.

With Acer's arrival, the WDA will work with the company to create training programs, which will include special training for Welsh engineers and technicians in Taiwan. The agency also recently announced it will build a Semiconductor Center of Expertise to support the growing semiconductor industry. The Semiconductor training center is the only UK facility offering virtual reality capability for training engineers on a no risk, low cost basis.

WDA Chairman David Rowe-Beddoe said today that Acer's investment will be a significant reinforcement of the Agency's drive to create a high-tech Welsh workforce.

Acer expects to initially employ approximately 200 workers at the plant next year, and will increase the number of employees to 1,000 in the year 2002. Construction work on the first phase is likely to start before the end of the year.

When the company enters production it will become the second Taiwanese manufacturer operating in Wales -- the other is Ringtel, which produces connectors at Cwmbran for the information technology industry -- and the 15th Taiwanese manufacturer in Britain.

The Welsh Development Agency is one of the most established economic development organizations in the world, founded 21 years ago. Its assistance helps to make Wales one of the world's best environments for business. The Agency provides ongoing support necessary to help companies succeed in Europe, including assistance with sourcing, training, regulatory compliance, research and development aid, partnerships and other business alliances.

More than 400 international companies have operations in the principality, including LG Electronics, Sony, Hitachi, Matsushita, Ford, Borg Warner, Harman Motive, TRW, General Electric, Dow Chemical, Dow Corning, and Toyota. More than 180 North American companies have facilities in Wales.

CONTACT: Hill and Knowlton

Jim Turano, 312/255-1200