Monday June 5, 1:24 pm Eastern Time
Company Press Release
SOURCE: Western Digital Corporation
Western Digital to Relocate Worldwide Corporate Headquarters
Company Signs 10-Year Lease for New Facility In Lake Forest, Calif., Beginning November 2000
IRVINE, Calif., June 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Western Digital Corporation (NYSE: WDC - news) today announced that it will move its worldwide corporate headquarters to a new, 187,000-square-foot facility in Lake Forest, Calif. The Company has signed a 10-year lease with an affiliate of the real estate subsidiary of State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, with Birtcher Real Estate Group serving as the development manager. Western Digital will begin its transition November 2000 from its current facility in Irvine, Calif.
Western Digital has occupied its current headquarters, a 15-story high-rise building located at 8105 Irvine Center Dr., for 10 years. Currently, 850 employees and contractors reside there. Its future location, encompassing three, campus-style, two-story buildings at 20411-20521 Lake Forest Dr., is a part of a new development called Serrano Creek Center, which offers many unique amenities designed as an employee-friendly work environment.
Matt Massengill, Western Digital President and CEO, said ``Western Digital is engineering itself into a new, progressive company with tremendous opportunities in Internet and data storage solutions markets. In addressing these new opportunities, the Company is working increasingly in collaborative teams and product groups. The campus style of Western Digital's future worldwide headquarters is designed to promote a creative, team-oriented environment, maximizing productivity. Serrano Creek is a highly desirable work environment for current and future employees.''
According to Massengill, the decision to move was based primarily on two considerations: providing an enjoyable and productive work environment for employees and minimizing the Company's operating costs. The new facility represents a significantly improved cost structure for the long term. He said the Company expects to save as much as 65 percent annually on facilities costs compared with its current headquarters, resulting in an expected four-month payback of relocation costs.
``Birtcher's business goal is to create unique environments within our office developments that allow our tenants to use the real estate as a human resource,'' said Brandon Birtcher, co-chairman and chief development officer of Birtcher Real Estate Group. ``We feel that tenants value a workplace offering on-site and local amenities that help improve their employees' quality of life.''
The 10-acre project includes a volleyball/basketball court, showers and lockers, private relaxation areas, access to a 6-mile jogging trail, outdoor gathering areas and a grove of more than 100 citrus trees.
The surrounding Lake Forest area offers numerous retail establishments that will provide convenience to Western Digital employees. The facility is in close proximity to the Foothill Transportation Corridor and Interstate 5. Lake Forest's growing business center is home to a number of leading firms including Adaptec, Gateway Computers, Nike, Oakley, Onyx Acceptance and Wet Seal. Western Digital will be one of the largest employers in the city.
Richard T. Dixon, Mayor, City of Lake Forest, said, ``Our city welcomes Western Digital and its employees with open arms. We are pleased that they will be joining the growing number of high-tech firms who are discovering the unique combination of quality of life and a business-friendly atmosphere that the City of Lake Forest has worked hard to achieve.''
About Birtcher Real Estate Group
Since its inception in 1939 as a family enterprise specializing in development and construction, the Birtcher Family of companies has grown to preeminence nationally as one of the leading real estate firms in the United States.
Since the late 70s, Birtcher has been responsible for setting the trend for creating more employee-minded developments that focus on on-site amenities such as day care, food service, health clubs, volleyball and basketball courts.
Headquartered in Laguna Niguel, Orange County, California, the Birtcher family of companies has constructed and/or developed more than 100 residential projects, totaling over 12,000 units, and more than 200 commercial and industrial properties comprising more than 50 million square feet. Birtcher has also acquired in excess of U.S. $2 billion of real estate through public and private vehicles and on an advisory basis.
About Western Digital
One of the data storage industry's longtime leaders, Western Digital Corporation is leveraging its core strengths to become a leading Internet solutions company, providing services and products to manage, store and communicate both digital content and network intelligence. The Company remains an industry-leading designer and manufacturer of hard drives for desktop computers and home entertainment applications. Through its Connex subsidiary, Western Digital delivers enterprise-class storage functionality for the department and mid-sized business markets, including storage management software, network attached storage and storage area networks. The Company's SageTree subsidiary designs analytical data warehousing tools to help manufacturers manage quality and quality-related business decisions throughout the entire product lifecycle. Western Digital was founded in 1970. The Company's storage products are marketed to leading systems manufacturers and selected resellers under the Western Digital brand name. Its home page can be found at www.westerndigital.com.
SOURCE: Western Digital Corporation |
