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Lenovo is expanding its Whitsett distribution center to keep up with growing demand for its computers.

A 37,500-square-foot addition to the computer maker's distribution and order fulfillment center, which completes orders for U.S. customers, could also bring new jobs to the area. About 160 people are already employed there, said Mark Stanton, Lenovo's global supply chain communications director.

Lenovo opened its 207,000-square-foot facility at 6540 Franz Warner Parkway in Rock Creek Center in 2008.

The expansion should be complete in March and help meet climbing demand for Lenovo's PCs and laptops.

"Lenovo has expanded faster than the global PC market for 10 consecutive quarters and climbed from number 4 to number 2 in the industry," Stanton said Friday.

Lenovo doesn't have specific plans for hiring workers, but Stanton said the company has hired at the Whitsett facility over the last several years as business grew, good news after at least 20 were laid off at the height of the recession in early 2009.

Lenovo shipped 1.25 million computers in the U.S. during the third quarter of 2011, Stanton said, though many skipped the Whitsett fulfillment center and were sent directly to consumers.

Lenovo's U.S. headquarters is in Morrisville.