Sun Micro plant blooms in Scotland

Sun Microsystems has spent $57m (£36m) upgrading its manufacturing plant in Scotland, a facility which among other things produces high-end Sun Fire 15000 servers for the EMEA region.

Its Linlithgow facility has been expanded 175 percent to a 220,000 sq ft plant and will also be used as Sun's global centre for its Remote Monitoring programme.

Remote monitoring used to be carried out at three regional centres in the US, Brazil and Singapore and, as at most hardware companies, is seen as key to providing timely and cost-effective support.

The company has said the skill and education level of the local workforce in Linlithgow was crucial to its choice as the global hub for the programme.

The company has now invested $210m in its Scottish campus, having come to the UK in 1990. From this summer, it will also begin producing kit for the Japanese market, the server giant said.

HRH The Princess Royal will open the new facility at a ceremony today.

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