5.24.2006 ET

(CSRwire) WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 24, 2006--Employment at Dell's (NASDAQ:DELL) North Carolina manufacturing facility now exceeds 1,000 people, Dell Chairman Michael Dell said here today, surpassing the company's initial forecast of creating 750 jobs in its first year of operation.

The company also announced it has shipped more than one million computers from the facility, just eight months after beginning production. The one-millionth unit was donated to Atkins Academic and Technology High School Principal Dan Piggott today by Mr. Dell at a ceremony attended by several of the school's students and hundreds of Dell Winston-Salem employees.

Dell today also said it plans to hire additional employees later this year in preparation to eventually produce the company's award-winning PowerEdge servers at the Piedmont Triad region facility. The 750,000 square-foot plant -- the company's largest -- currently produces Dell's industry-leading OptiPlex and Dimension desktop systems for U.S. East Coast business and consumer customers. Dell has invested more than $100 million in the facility to date.

Employment at the Winston-Salem area facility was about 350 seven months ago when production began and was expected to reach about 750 people in its first year of operation. Employment is now nearly 1,100 people.

"There's nothing more important than exceeding our customers' expectations every time they interact with Dell. Our growth and investment in North Carolina, combined with the more than 2,000 sales and support people we've hired in the U.S. over the past two years, signifies our commitment to giving customers the highest quality products and services for the best value in the industry," said Mr. Dell.

"The employment and production milestones Dell has achieved in these first eight months prove that the investments North Carolina made to bring this facility to our state are paying off," said Gov. Mike Easley. "We will continue to focus on education, worker training and infrastructure to strengthen our partnership with this company and others to deliver even more jobs to hardworking North Carolinians across the state."

Dell's facility in North Carolina's Piedmont Triad region has resulted in several new logistics, packaging and automation firms also locating in the area, according to the Piedmont Triad Partnership. These related businesses are creating several hundred new jobs, in addition to the jobs at Dell, according to the regional economic development partnership.

Dell's North Carolina plant incorporates several features that enhance the company's quality, speed and effectiveness. At its current rate of progress, the facility will be capable of producing a computer every 2.5 seconds by the end of this year.

Community Involvement

Since beginning operations in the Piedmont Triad Region, Dell and its team members have provided grants, equipment and volunteer time to numerous schools and school systems, museums, government agencies, non-profit groups and events.

Those community activities include Habitat for Humanity, Toys for Tots, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation's Walk for Life and a food drive for the Second Harvest Food Bank. In collaboration with Operation Homelink, Dell provided 150 refurbished computers to families of Fort Bragg soldiers deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. The company also sponsored a Winston-Salem/Forsyth County computer recycling event that collected 45 tons of used equipment. In addition, Dell was one of the first to sponsor and participate in the North Carolina 21st Century Skills program to prepare young North Carolinians for the future.

"Dell's investment in Winston-Salem and its people has strengthened our region's economy and its participation in our community is a solid model for corporate citizenship," said Winston-Salem Mayor Allen Joines. "Dell has honored all portions of our contract and, in fact, exceeded some of the time frames contained in it."

About Dell

Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL) listens to customers and delivers innovative technology and services they trust and value. Uniquely enabled by its direct business model, Dell sells more systems globally every day than any computer company, placing it No. 25 on the Fortune 500. Company revenue for the past four quarters was $56.7 billion. For more information, visit www.dell.com. To get Dell news direct, visit www.dell.com/RSS.



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