HP computers weren’t always manufactured overseas. Founded in 1939, the company was originally formed in Palo Alto, California. Two American entrepreneurs — the eponymous Bill Hewlett and David Packard — initially started HP as an electronics-testing company based in the U.S. It wouldn’t be many years before HP became associated with computers.
When the PC revolution was sparked in the 1980s, Hewlett-Packard was at the forefront. The first HP personal computers to hit the market were manufactured in the United States. However, sales quickly expanded to foreign markets, and assembly plants were promptly opened in China. The city of Chongqing in particular boomed over the next 40 years, as multiple manufacturing plants began the majority of assembly and production in Asian markets, as well as the U.S.
HP computers sold in America and Europe are typically manufactured in the United States. HP computers sold in Asia are typically assembled and produced in China, with parts manufactured in India. That was largely true until an official statement in September of 2023 announced a new, diverse direction for the PC giant.
As reported by Nikkei, Hewlett-Packard is moving a significant portion of its manufacturing operations from China to facilities in Thailand, Mexico, and Vietnam. Thailand is the destination for a percentage of HP’s consumer laptops, and Mexico will be the new source of many productivity-first “commercial notebooks” — meaning don’t expect a gaming laptop like the latest OMEN to come from Mexico. However, according to HP, Chongqing and the other Chinese hubs won’t be forgotten, with the Chinese “laptop city” still producing the majority of HP computers for the Asian market.
