Responding to a persistent slump in the personal computer market, Apple Computer Inc. on Tuesday announced the sale of its Garden Grove automated manufacturing facility to longtime vendor Alps Electric USA Inc. Terms of the sale were not disclosed, but one industry analyst estimated the sale to be in the $5-million range.

The purchase gives the Japanese Alps Electric Co. Ltd. its first U.S. manufacturing facility. Alps, with revenues of $1.5 billion, employs more than 11,000 in Japan and has 51 plants and offices around the world.

Last week, Cupertino-based Apple confirmed that it was selling the plant, which produces computer keyboards and “mouse” devices for the Macintosh model.

Alps will continue to produce the same products for Apple after it takes over the plant on Friday. In February, the plant employed 661 people, but since then layoffs have reduced employment to 275. Alps officials said they would determine the staffing of the plant after they took over.


Third-Party Vendors

“Selling the Garden Grove operation is in keeping with our plans to concentrate our efforts on personal computers while relying on third-party vendors to supply us with top-quality components and accessories,” said Delbert W. Yocam, Apple’s executive vice president of product operations.

Alps officials said that opening an American manufacturing plant is part of the company’s long-range strategy. “Adding the Garden Grove plant to our family enables us to be even more responsive to our customers,” Suetomo Kameoka, general manager of Alps Electric USA, said in a statement. “We expect to have an even better relationship with Apple Computer and closer cooperation between the two companies.”