Setting Up Shop in Campinas

In 1975, Hewlett-Packard rented a manufacturing facility in Brazil to handle production of medical instruments and handheld calculators. The company also purchased a 50-acre site to develop a permanent manufacturing plant in Campinas, near Sao Paulo. Medical instruments initially produced at the facility included an electrocardiograph, defibrillator, monitor scope and ECG heart rate monitor. “From a marketing point of view, the decision to manufacture in Brazil was very good,” said Jose (Pepe) Grapa, Latin American Area manager. “There is the local advantage of being part of the economy and community of Brazil.”