The centers are designed to meet HP’s growing customer requirements and enhance the total customer experience.

The selection of the two locations was based on multiple factors, including the quality of the workforce, business environment, standard of living and government cooperation.

“This historic announcement for Conway and central Arkansas demonstrates the new direction of Arkansas’ 21st-century economy,” said Governor Mike Beebe of Arkansas. “This is a significant investment in our state that will provide great job opportunities for our skilled technical workforce. It also marks the beginning of a partnership between Arkansas and one of the global leaders in information technology.”

“I’m proud that HP has recognized that New Mexico is a great place to do business and has chosen our state to make this tremendous investment,” Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico said. “This is another major step forward as we continue to build a high-quality, highly skilled workforce.”

HP plans to employ more than 1,200 in Conway and 1,300 in Rio Rancho in a phased approach over four years.

HP will work with city officials and local developers on the design and construction of the new facilities, each of which will be optimized for service and support center operations, with features that include advanced IT and telecommunications systems to track and transfer calls, and spaces for collaboration and training.

“HP is working to create these new customer service and technical support centers in cooperation with the communities in Conway and Rio Rancho,” said Jon Flaxman, executive vice president and chief administrative officer, HP. “With these new facilities, we expect to improve processes and achieve efficiencies that will help us continue to improve the total experience for our growing number of customers.”-HP