Costa Rica Business – Intel’s top man speaks of “incredible engineering team.”

For the first time, the President of Intel Paul Otellini visited the Intel plant in Heredia to review operations and meet with staff ..

Otellini, 52, is an economist with a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of California, Berkeley. Part of his mission is to create innovative and increasingly efficient new products.

The Intel plant opened in Belén de Heredia 13 years ago and at 38,000M2, is the largest manufacturing plant the company has in the world today. 3,200 people work there and produce 95% of the processors for servers that the multinational sells around the world.

They also design new products and work to improve the energy performance of the chips and give financial and technical support for the corporation.

In an interview with La Nacion, Paul Otellini said that to foster “knowledge is vital for a country in this century.” He rates “very high” input from Intel here and, for him the crisis is not over.

What is added value does Costa Rica gives Intel?

“The added value that any employee of Intel brings is his brain. This intellectual capital is what we include inside each one of our processors (chips). Here we have an incredible engineering team that streamlines our technology.

Recently, we included other functions in the plant: services in information technology, customer focus and that speaks to the caliber and quality of the people who work here, their education and mastery of several languages. In 13 years, Intel Costa Rica has not only grown in size but in complexity.”

“I think over time our engineering resources in Costa Rica, Mexico and Argentina, can investigate and be key pieces for the development of markets in Latin America and provide greater overall capacity, this is what we expect in five or ten years.”

What are the key challenges the country must take to remain competitive?

“The scenario of competition changed in this century. Now it comes to increasing the added value of intellectual capital, which is fueled by the curiosity that is awakened by the education system, that system here is outstanding. The commitment to science and mathematics is very good. I am pleased that 60% of the country’s school participates in science fairs.”

If you were to compare Costa Rica with other nations where Intel is located, do you receive what’s necessary from the Costa Rica Government to be efficient?

“These kinds of things are really not my responsibility. But I think that while the country maintains the promotion of intellectual capital, it will remain high on the curve (of competitiveness). It is also important that you can compete in manufacturing with China and India in software development, of course, in the proper scale and relationship with country size.

What you do well is to focus on creating value and for me this is a natural evolution. But we must also consider the benefits packages offered to global companies. And not just about money.”

What is included in this package?

“A simple regulatory environment, facilities for doing business, quality of workmanship.”

Does Intel give to Costa Rica in the same proportion as Intel benefits from Costa Rica?

“We contribute greatly to the country, with the growth of Gross Domestic Product (Intel exports represent 5.5%), we do projects with schools and with the community (Belén, Heredia), we have promoted hydroponics farms, recycling. In 2009, our staff spent 30,000 hours in community work.”

Finally, in the overall context of Intel revenue in the first quarter rose 44% compared to 2009. Is it a sign that the economic crisis ended or is it still early to tell?

“It is still early to tell. The force that shows Intel’s business comes from the global consumer and I believe that this trend will continue steadily this year, particularly in the notebooks and netbooks segment. Sales have certainly improved, the computers are not a luxury but essential to the life of people in all areas.”

Our thanks to our friends at La Nación – Costa Rica’s largest Spanish circulation newspaper for their permission summarize their articles.

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Andrew Makarik

to@welovecostarica.com

Andrew Makarik is the main editor of WeLoveCostaRica, a fan of this sunny country. He is also a loving husband and a has a lovely daughter. By being a devoted family man and the biggest Costa Rica fan, he wants to make more people feel at home there. WeLoveCostaRica unites people and helps them find new home or a new travel destination. This website is a friendly community where everyone can find not only information, but also new friends and travel pals. Andrew is also passionate about IT and programming, so he himself maintains a friendly atmosphere in this cozy environment of WeLoveCostaRica.com.