Lenovo, the world's No. 2 personal computer brand will set up a manufacturing line near Greensboro, N.C., at a time when rivals Hewlett-Packard, Dell and Apple no longer make computers in this country.

Starting small, Lenovo's initial plans call for a $2 million operation that will create 115 manufacturing jobs there when production begins in early 2013. However, Lenovo North America President David Schmoock told The Wall Street Journal that the move could be the start of something bigger.

The North Carolina workers will build Think-brand notebooks and desktop PCs, tablets, engineering workstations and servers for North American customers.

Based in China, the company maintains its U.S. executive headquarters near Raleigh, employing about 2,000 people there.  The manufacturing line will be installed in its recently expanded, 240,000-square-foot U.S. distribution center in Whitsett.

Lenovo, which became a major employer in the Research Triangle in 2005 when it bought IBM's PC business, hopes to boost its No. 4 ranking among consumers in the U.S.