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WINSTON-SALEM (MCT) — Dell Inc. shut down the production lines at its Winston-Salem plant yesterday, ending a six-year run that started with great fanfare but ultimately failed to reach its economic potential.

Officials confirmed that assembly of desktop computers ended yesterday afternoon.

Any further activity at the 750,000-square-foot plant would be "part of the exiting and shut-down work required," said David Frink, a spokesman for Dell.

He would not give a final closing date.

When Dell initially said it was closing the $110 million plant in October 2009, local officials were told that it would take two to three months to remove equipment and completely shut down.

"We're proud of our North Carolina team members, the outstanding products they produced for our customers over the past five years, and of the contributions they made to the Piedmont Triad," Frink said.

Dell opened the plant in October 2005 -- about 10 months after becoming eligible for up to $38 million in local incentives and up to $267 million in state incentives.

The company pledged to have from 1,500 to 1,700 employees, including suppliers and vendors, in the plant. The length of the incentive contracts led to projections and expectations that the plant's lifespan would be at least 15 to 20 years.

But even before the plant was opened, analysts predicted it wouldn't last that long for two reasons -- the desktop-computer market was nearing saturation, and laptops were expected to overtake desktops in popularity.

Both came to pass much sooner than expected.

Dell chose not to assemble laptops here because it's less expensive to build them overseas. Production of servers -- a computer system that provides essential services across a network -- never materialized as hoped.

"We were fortunate to have had Dell in our community, both for the jobs it provided and the national and international recognition we gained by being selected for its plant," said Gayle Anderson, the president and chief executive of the Winston-Salem Chamber of Commerce.

The plant's work force reached a peak of 1,400. By the time Dell initially announced its plant-closing plans, it was down to 905. About 400 jobs were cut in November 2009.

The plant was given four reprieves, but Dell said on Sept. 10 it would close the plant this month.

Within weeks of making the decision to close, Dell agreed to pay back $26.5 million in local incentive money. Had Dell not agreed to do so, and kept the plant open through at least October 2010, it would have been eligible to keep half of the local incentive amount.

On Sept. 22, Dell chose a Chicago real-estate broker, Jones Lang LaSalle, to market the plant. Simpson Schulman & Beard, a real-estate company in Greensboro, will assist.

"Dell prefers to sell the plant to a single buyer, but has expressed a willingness to be flexible for leasing it on a long-term basis," said Chris Skibinski, the managing director of logistics and industrial properties for Jones Lang LaSalle's Charlotte office. He said that Dell has not disclosed a sale price publicly.

Mayor Allen Joines said that knowing for more than a year that the plant was closing didn't make the final production day less sad.

Although Joines expects Dell will take two to three months to exit, "if we had a hot prospect, they might could even bump that up a little bit. Dell's been good to let us show the property."

Jerome Sanders of Winston-Salem said he was not bitter about losing his job. He worked as a material handler and a burn operator, often working six or seven days a week and nine- to 11-hour shifts.

"It's been a long, hard road," Sanders said. "I've made it, and it is time for a new chapter."

Keith Bunch of Kernersville, an employee whose job ended Nov. 1, returned to the plant yesterday to say goodbye to his former co-workers.

"A lot of people left good jobs to work here," he said.

Losing his job at Dell hasn't scared off Bunch from manufacturing.

He said he plans to apply for a job at the Caterpillar Inc. plant, which will be built just yards away from Dell.