The Haier Service Centre was officially opened on Friday at Middle Street, Georgetown next to the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court. Heading the local office of the international company is Nyal Jodhan, Brian James and a small group of executives.
The service centre is set to fulfil the company’s contractual obligations for the One Laptop Per Family (OLPF) programme, as Haier promised on receiving the contract to provide 27,000 laptops for Guyana. The centre is seen as the start of the assembly line for Haier technology in Guyana.
The Haier Service Centre was officially opened on Friday at Middle Street, Georgetown next to the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court. Heading the local office of the international company is Nyal Jodhan, Brian James and a small group of executives.
The service centre is set to fulfil the company’s contractual obligations for the One Laptop Per Family (OLPF) programme, as Haier promised on receiving the contract to provide 27,000 laptops for Guyana. The centre is seen as the start of the assembly line for Haier technology in Guyana.
Prime Minister Samuel Hinds, performing the duties of president, expressed the government’s faith that the company will deliver its promise. He reiterated government’s determination that no Guyanese, young or old, should be computer illiterate, or without access to training on how to use computers.
Government intends to deliver one Haier net-book to 90,000 of 250,000 Guyanese families who have not been able to provide themselves with a computer, as well at put systems in place for training.
Hinds said: “We recognise there will be some amount of losses, but we want to encourage everyone to discover and learn something.” He urged Guyanese to become as skilled as they can be in the use of the computer, and posited that natural skill and talent will show itself during this period.
The prime minister acknowledged the pervasiveness of information technology and computers in people’s lives whether it be in leisure, pleasure, education, employment, and self employment, as such, “ We will certainly look for our growth and development in these areas,” he emphasised.
He also challenged Guyanese to take an example from the Chinese and produce goods and services of a high quality, pointing out that this would be “a testimony to the kind of people we are. The progress of the Chinese is a challenge to us”, the prime minister noted.
Meanwhile Chinese Ambassador to Guyana Yu Wenzhe noted that the opening of the service centre is another happy occasion of cooperation between China and Guyana. “As part of the OLPF programme, we hope that we will together be able to advance technology and equipment, and what’s more, we are happy to learn that Haier will expand their corporation here and in the not too far future. We wish to see the Haier world product made in Guyana,” he added Haier is the largest technological appliance manufacturer in the world and, through innovation and quality, have familiar international brand names such as General Electric and Seimens among others. The company hopes to carry on the tradition in Guyana.
In approximately 18 months, Haier will begin setting up a facility to manufacture laptops, computers and TV screens. There will eventually be a Haier Industrial Park set up here in about five years’ time.
According to Haier’s local representative Brian James, the assembly line has already begun to come in, and “we will be moving steadily forward to bring innovation and valued progress to the Guyanese public. We hope to take advantage of our bilateral relations with Brazil and UNASUR and Guyana, so we will be able to say ‘Made in Guyana’ very proudly and carry on the position of Haier with quality and innovation. This opening is to the future beginning to Haier, of a global step forward for Guyana,” he stated.
The local representatives are now going through the modalities of finding suitable land. The timeline is about 18 months, and the investment will be US$10 million.
The initial scope for employment will be for about 500 persons, but there will be a lot more people involved. The total employment potential will be in the thousands. The assembly line will begin with laptops and computers.
Meanwhile, 11,000 Haier netbooks have already been distributed, 220 of which were returned for servicing
