Mar 27, 2002 Debrecen, Hungary
National Instruments (Nasdaq: NATI) today celebrates the official grand opening of its Hungary manufacturing facility with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and reception. Speakers at the ceremony include Victor Orban, Prime Minister of Hungary; Janet Garvey, Charge d'Affaires (Acting U.S. Ambassador to Hungary); Lajos Kosa, Debrecen Mayor and Hungary Parliament Member; Dr. James Truchard, NI President and CEO; Ruben Mangin, NI Vice President of Manufacturing; and Laszlo Abraham, Managing Director for NI Hungary.
"NI went from breaking ground on the Hungary building to producing products in five months," said Ruben Mangin, NI Vice President of Manufacturing. "We stayed on schedule largely because of the great teamwork we had with national and local officials in Hungary. With this new site, we are closer to our European markets, which means we can respond more quickly to customer demand in the region and diversify our manufacturing capabilities."
NI chose Hungary as the home for its new facility because of its close proximity to NI's European markets, the well-educated workforce, and the favorable business environment. The 13,400 square meter (144,000 square foot) facility, NI's first overseas manufacturing site, is located in Debrecen, Hungary and has been operational since October of 2001.
"With National Instruments coming to Debrecen, the city is one step closer to our goal of becoming the Hungarian Silicon Valley," said Lajos Kosa, Debrecen Mayor and Hungary Parliament Member. "The relationship that the city of Debrecen has built with NI is an excellent example of the strong community partnerships in Eastern Hungary."
As part of the grand opening, NI plans to donate its award-winning LabVIEW� graphical development software to Hungarian universities. With the NI software, students learn engineering concepts through computer-based learning. NI actively participates in schools and communities worldwide and is already working with universities in Hungary to sponsor school project competitions and internships in addition to the product donations.
NI currently employs more than 100 local workers at the Hungary manufacturing site and plans to double that number by the end of 2002. The manufacturing facility produces computer circuit boards that perform various measurement and automation tasks from the research laboratory to the manufacturing floor.
About NI
NI leverages commercial technologies, such as industry-standard computers and the Internet, to deliver customer-defined measurement and automation solutions. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, NI has more than 2,800 employees and direct operations in 37 countries. NI increases the productivity of engineers and scientists worldwide by delivering easy-to-integrate software and modular hardware. In 2001, the company sold products to more than
24,000 different companies in more than 60 countries around the world. For the past three consecutive years, FORTUNE magazine has named NI one of the 100 best companies to work for in America.
NI investment information may be obtained from the company's Investor Relations Department on the Web at ni.com/nati, by sending e-mail to nati@ni.com , or by calling (512) 683-5090.
