SAN JOSE, Calif., July 22, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Bell Microproducts Inc. (Pink Sheets:BELM), one of the world's largest value-added distributors of storage and computing technology, today announced the expansion of its facility in Acton, Mass. An increase in value-add business on the East Coast coupled with the increasing production needs of existing key customers prompted management to nearly double the manufacturing floor space from 25,000 to 40,000 square feet.
The added square footage at the ISO 9001:2000 certified Acton facility will give Bell Microproducts much needed co-located warehousing, staging and production space, a strategy already being successfully executed at the company's West Coast Integration center, located in San Jose, Calif. In service since June 2006, Bell Microproducts' San Jose Integration Center has fared extremely well, achieving a growth rate of over 25 percent each year.
"The expansion of our Acton integration center underscores Bell Microproducts' commitment to offer a full range of integration solutions from design to deployment, giving us the ability to provide superior levels of service and technical support through various points of design stages, competitive cost structure, leading-edge facilities and established relationships with key suppliers," explained Bob Sturgeon, vice president of operations and CIO of Bell Microproducts. "All of these elements combine to enable Bell Microproducts to become a seamless extension of the customer's organization. We are seeing growth in this area despite a slowing market. This growth drives us to continue to invest in the things that have made us successful: people, facilities and technical capability."
Many organizations, from Fortune 500 companies to small companies, rely upon Bell Microproducts for cost effective integration solutions. According to Kevin Purser, vice president of operations for wide area network acceleration appliance maker Silver Peak Systems, Inc., "Bell Microproducts provides us with quality, flexibility, responsiveness and cost effectiveness -- all key factors that are integral to the success of our supply chain. Additionally, Bell Microproducts shares our philosophy regarding the strategic execution of lean manufacturing, which opens the doors to growth without boundaries and flexibility between models in the product line. Bell Microproducts possesses the best of both worlds: parts distribution for franchised parts and integration expertise, making the company an ideal partner for Silver Peak."
"We are committed to investing in value-added manufacturing and bringing Bell Microproducts' customers the most cost effective solutions available. As we continue to fine tune our mix of manufacturing methodologies to meet a broad range of customer requirements, we will remain committed to lean manufacturing, while offering redundant capacity and capability throughout North America," noted Sturgeon.
For more information on Bell Microproducts and their value-added integration services, please visit www.bellmicro.com or call 1-800-800-1513.
About Bell Microproducts OEM Integration Division
Bell Microproducts services the industrial segment providing OEMs an end-to-end solution by leveraging its core competencies in distribution, manufacturing, logistic fulfillment and post manufacturing support. The company's industrial customers range from Cardinal Health Systems and GE to Ricoh and Rackable Systems. In order to offer its customers the ability to utilize the latest technology while taking advantage of product lifecycle programs for continued competitive cost advantage, Bell Microproducts operates 13 integration and value-added facilities worldwide. These facilities accommodate design, integration and deployment of solutions along with sophisticated supply chain and logistics technology to service the needs of OEMs. The physical layout of these ISO 9001:2000 certified manufacturing facilities incorporate improved material flow concepts providing enhanced productivity.
About Bell Microproducts Inc.
Bell Microproducts (Pink Sheets:BELM) is an international, value-added distributor of a wide range of high-tech products, solutions and services, including storage systems, servers, software, computer components and peripherals, as well as maintenance and professional services. An industry-recognized specialist in storage products, the company is one of the world's largest storage-centric value-added distributors.
Bell Microproducts is uniquely qualified with deep technical and application expertise to service a broad range of information technology needs. From design to deployment, its products are available at any level of integration, from components to subsystem assemblies and fully-integrated, tested and certified system solutions. More information can be found in the company's SEC filings, or by visiting the Bell Microproducts Web site at www.bellmicro.com.