EscucharSAN JOSE - Anixter Inc., which supplies products and services for the building of computer networks, opened an office in Costa Rica which will be in charge of the Central American region, officials from the firm revealed at a press conference yesterday.
Anixter de Costa Rica is a branch of Anixter de Mexico, which is in turn a subsidiary of Anixter Inc. of the United States. The branch in this Central American nation opened with $1 million initial capital.
Anixter supplies products for IBM, Lucent Technologies, 3 Com, U.S. Robotics and other companies.
Jorge Pérez, general director of Anixter for Mexico and Central America, said that from the time the Costa Rican branch was legally established, in October, it has taken orders within the region for more than $1 million and expects a 300 percent increase in the remaining part of the year.
Anixter has more than 60,000 customers throughout the world. Its payroll includes more than 6,000 employees, it has 180 offices around the globe and in 1996 its income was more than $2.5 billion.
Conair expands
Hair drier manufacturer Conair, which has operated for 10 years in the Cartago Free Zone, will open a new plant in Costa Rica, the local general manager Francisco López told La Nación.
The new facility will be located in the city of Turrialba and it involves a $6-million investment.
According to López, the construction of the new plant will start in July and it will have an area of 9,000 square meters (10,800 square yards). Production is expected to start in March next year.
It will be the first free zone plant to be set up in Turrialba, a canton of the province of Cartago, east of San José.
One of the reasons for choosing that city, López explained, is the availability of labor. Also, he added, it will make a contribution to lowering unemployment in the area.
Conair de Costa Rica, a subsidiary of U.S. Conair Corp., will hire 700 to 800 employees for its new plant over the next two years, López added.
He explained that the new plant will not limit its production to the traditional manual hair dryers, but will also manufacture professional dryers, electric rollers, mirrors, and other items, most of them destined for the European market.
Additionally, the new facility will have a training center for the employees as well as three buildings dedicated to handling parts made by Conair's suppliers.
