Apple's $200M Mac Pro facility employs 500 across 5 acres
In a confirmation the new modular Mac Pro is being assembled at its facility in Austin, TX, Apple has revealed more details about the operation, including an investment of over $200 million into the plant and how it employs more than 500 people at the location.
Apple's Mac Pro production line in Austin, Texas
Advised as part of Apple's announcement it has started constructing a new billion-dollar campus in Austin, the iPhone maker revealed it was well underway making units of the new Mac Pro at its existing facility in the area. The model is set to begin shipping in December alongside the Pro Display XDR, with the factory having received considerable investment and work to get it up and running to build the workstation.
Apple and its manufacturing partners has so far invested over $200 million into the facility, including the creation of a "complex assembly line" just for the Mac Pro. The production line is long, with each Mac Pro traveling a distance of 1,000 feet during its construction.
The complex nature of the line is such that Apple advises some components require precision placement "within the width of a human hair," warranting such a sizable investment. The facility itself measures 244,000-square-foot in size, and employs more than 500 people, including electrical engineers and electronics assemblers actively working on the line.
The facility was in use previously for the construction of the preceding model of Mac Pro, with the new model's construction a continuation of its usage. While there were rumors Apple was going to shift production of the new Mac Pro away to China, Apple has since advised it would keep production of the model in the U.S.
Apple claims the growth in Austin for the facility, including the campus construction, is part of its nationwide expansion plans first announced in January 2018, aimed at increasing its investment for manufacturing, engineering, and other jobs within the United States. Apple is currently on track to hire an additional 20,000 employees nationally by 2023, and anticipates it will contribute $350 billion to the US economy between 2018 and 2023.
Apple CEO Tim Cook and President Donald Trump are expected to visit the facility for a tour later today.
Apple's Mac Pro production line in Austin, Texas
Advised as part of Apple's announcement it has started constructing a new billion-dollar campus in Austin, the iPhone maker revealed it was well underway making units of the new Mac Pro at its existing facility in the area. The model is set to begin shipping in December alongside the Pro Display XDR, with the factory having received considerable investment and work to get it up and running to build the workstation.
Apple and its manufacturing partners has so far invested over $200 million into the facility, including the creation of a "complex assembly line" just for the Mac Pro. The production line is long, with each Mac Pro traveling a distance of 1,000 feet during its construction.
The complex nature of the line is such that Apple advises some components require precision placement "within the width of a human hair," warranting such a sizable investment. The facility itself measures 244,000-square-foot in size, and employs more than 500 people, including electrical engineers and electronics assemblers actively working on the line.
The facility was in use previously for the construction of the preceding model of Mac Pro, with the new model's construction a continuation of its usage. While there were rumors Apple was going to shift production of the new Mac Pro away to China, Apple has since advised it would keep production of the model in the U.S.
Apple claims the growth in Austin for the facility, including the campus construction, is part of its nationwide expansion plans first announced in January 2018, aimed at increasing its investment for manufacturing, engineering, and other jobs within the United States. Apple is currently on track to hire an additional 20,000 employees nationally by 2023, and anticipates it will contribute $350 billion to the US economy between 2018 and 2023.
Apple CEO Tim Cook and President Donald Trump are expected to visit the facility for a tour later today.
Comments
PLEASE HELP KEEP THIS FORUM OPEN BY REFRAINING FROM POLITICAL DIATRIBES
Wow, this is a much larger operation than what I was expecting, which means one of two things (or both);
- Expected demand is larger than I thought (not that my thoughts matter.)
- Apple is doing more than just inserting some assembled boards in a chassis.
Either way kudos to Apple. I wish them well and hope this starts at least a small trend to bring some manufacturing/assembly back to the States.Where did you crawl out of...
I loved the Mac Pros I had in the past, and I'm looking forward to getting this new one.
I'm especially happy to see Apple continue to expand out of California and into the great state of Texas!! Yeeehaaawww!!
Not really a new "expansion into" Texas, they were doing the prev MP in the same facility.
Edit: I've confirmed that the prior Mac Pros say "Assembled in USA" so there is no reason to believe the new Mac Pro will be any different.
According to this article:
"Under U.S. Federal Trade Commission regulations, companies can’t include the term “Assembled in USA” if that process only includes final piecing together of imported parts “in a simple ‘screwdriver’ operation in the U.S.”
so to characterize what Apple does is just assembly here from imported parts, is completely wrong.
The USA is the second largest manufacturer in the world, after China, which took over the lead during the Bush recession. But it’s still close. We’re also the second largest exporter. A spot that also changed hands during that recession. Yes, we may not realize it, from what we recognize, but much of the world’s industrial machinery still comes from here, as do many other commercial and industrial goods. The usa is also the biggest agricultural producer and exporter, though the trade war has damaged that severely.
https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/guidance/complying-made-usa-standard
Assembled in USA Claims
A product that includes foreign components may be called “Assembled in USA” without qualification when its principal assembly takes place in the U.S. and the assembly is substantial. For the “assembly” claim to be valid, the product’s last “substantial transformation” also should have occurred in the U.S. That’s why a “screwdriver” assembly in the U.S. of foreign components into a final product at the end of the manufacturing process doesn’t usually qualify for the “Assembled in USA” claim.
Example: A lawn mower, composed of all domestic parts except for the cable sheathing, flywheel, wheel rims and air filter (15 to 20 percent foreign content) is assembled in the U.S. An “Assembled in USA” claim is appropriate.
Example: All the major components of a computer, including the motherboard and hard drive, are imported. The computer’s components then are put together in a simple “screwdriver” operation in the U.S., are not substantially transformed under the Customs Standard, and must be marked with a foreign country of origin. An “Assembled in U.S.” claim without further qualification is deceptive.
This may not be an expansion, other than the money expanding and upgrading the plant for this.
but, Apple is building 2 million feet of space in Austin which will employ an additional 5,000 employees when it opens in 2022, and will, when completely finished, employ 15,000 employees. If that’s not an expansion, I don’t know what is. It will cost Apple $1 billion, and result in a lot of jobs during that work. It will also result in the expansion of many local businesses to accommodate those employees.