3Com opens US$70 million Singapore manufacturing plant

3Com Corporation, a global computer networking leader, officially opened its new Singapore manufacturing plant on Friday, the largest 3Com manufacturing investment in Asia Pacific Rim. The opening ceremony was officiated by Mr. Lee Yock Suan, Singapore Minister for Trade and Industry.

3Com`s new facility, named 3Com Technologies, is one of the first major manufacturing bases to be established in Asia by a major player in the global networking industry. Located in Changi Industrial North and occupying 27,870 square meters (330,000 square feet) of floor space, the plant will manufacture a wide range of 3Com products such as EtherLink network interface cards, award-winning U.S. Robotics modems, SuperStack hubs, other desktop and LAN switching products, Total Control remote access concentrators, and the best-selling PalmPilot connected organizer.

Some of the awards won in Asia Pacific by 3Com products include Hong Kong Sing Tao daily`s "Top 10 Software and Hardware Choice 1997: Best PDA" for the PalmPilot; the "Best PDA/Handheld PC" / ?Best New Product/Technology", "Best Modem" and "Best Network Hub/Switch" for the PalmPilot, U.S. Robotics 56K desktop modem and the SuperStack II 3000 hub in PC World HK`s 1998 awards.

In addition to manufacturing operations, the site also houses a logistics centre, an Asia Pacific Rim (APR) customer administration and customer training centre, a network operations center and a distribution center that oversees regional channel support.

During the official opening ceremony, Mr. Soo Kok Leng, Vice President & Managing Director of 3Com Technologies said: "Today is the culmination of many months of hard work and development for 3Com. I am delighted intelligent, reliable and high performance local and wide area networks. For further information, visit 3Com`s World Wide Web site at http://www.3Com.com or the press site at http://www.3Com.com/pressbox.