News hardly noticed: Birth of a new NN baby SpaceBridge across the Ottawa river in Hull, province Quebec. I am not sure if the news was posted here.
Why was Terry brillian again?
1) Gets lots of tax breaks and government funding. Good value for the shareholders. 2) Goes in the provice from which people and business flee for last 20 years (continuous thread of separation from Canada). Not only Terry gets total costs down by 15-20%, but he becomes a true darling of politicians, who are desperately trying to reverse the exodus. Business gets easier now in many ways. 3) "Helping Canada & Quebec" image helps to pump up NN holdings by Canadian financial institutions. That provides higher sustainable PE. 4) 1/2 hour drive from Kanata, no problem with being in touch without being exposed to airplane food. 5) There is more space left in Kanata campus for the rumored golf course.
--------------------------------------------------------------- Canada NewsWire - Pointcast Network Canada NEWBRIDGE NETWORKS ESTABLISHES RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CENTER IN HULL, QUEBEC 10:0 EST Monday, September 22, 1997 Canada NewsWire
Televitesse and SpaceBridge employees to occupy 37,000 sq. ft. facility, one of the largest private telecommunications research and development centers in Quebec
HULL, Que., Sept. 22 /CNW/ - Newbridge Networks, a global leader in telecommunications, today announced the creation of a telecommunications research and development center in Hull, Quebec. The facility, to be named for its anchor tenant, Televitesse Systems Inc., was inaugurated at a ceremony attended by municipal, provincial and federal officials.
The 37,000 sq. ft. facility will initially house the 75 employees of Newbridge(R) Affiliate Televitesse Systems Inc. and SpaceBridge Networks Corporation, an Affiliate jointly established by Newbridge and COM DEV International Ltd. These rapidly growing Newbridge Affiliates expect to hire more than 200 new employees over the next four years for positions in software, systems and hardware engineering making this site one of the largest private telecommunications R&D centers in Quebec.
Total investment in research and development to be conducted in the center over the next four years is expected to reach $50 million. The Federal and Quebec governments will provide a total of $4.9 million in repayable loans to help fund the initial R&D activities of SpaceBridge. A further $25 million will be invested in SpaceBridge by Newbridge Networks and COM DEV. An additional $20 million in R&D activity will be performed by Televitesse over the same period.
"As Newbridge grows, our commitment to Canada continues with enhanced growth of our Kanata facility, the establishment of Newbridge Affiliates from Halifax to Vancouver, and today the announcement of our investment in Quebec," said Terence Matthews, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Newbridge Networks.
"This announcement is positive for the province of Quebec; it is positive for Newbridge Networks; and above all, it demonstrates again that Canada is a world class, competitive country in which to conduct global telecommunications research."
The decision to locate in Quebec was influenced by a number of factors including Quebec's competitive R&D incentives, the province's excellent universities, its community of skilled researchers and a progressive approach to public-private partnerships.
"I am proud to participate in the announcement made today by Newbridge and COM DEV, whose activities are concentrated in information technology, one of the key sectors of the economy. This project meets the jobs and growth focus of our government. Our belief in this project is all the more strong that our government has invested, in addition to our contribution to the Entente, an additional $2 million through the IDEE-PME, a program of the Federal Office of Regional Development (Quebec) which will contribute to regional development and job creation. This project illustrates the spirit of collaboration which exists between our two governments in the area of development," said the Honourable John Manley, Minister of Industry Canada.
"The establishment of this new research center will have a tremendous positive effect on the development of high technology in the Outaouais region," said Roger Bertrand, Minister of State, Industry and Commerce, Quebec. "The synergy which develops between technology companies is encouraging for the future of the region. The Quebec government is pleased to assist these companies and in doing so, contribute to the growth of the economy."
The 100-year-old, three-storey building was completely renovated in order to welcome the employees of Televitesse and SpaceBridge. Two-thirds of the 37,000 sq. ft. facility is dedicated to research and development activities, with the remaining space used for training, sales and marketing, and administrative offices.
Established in 1994, Televitesse is one of 15 Newbridge Affiliate companies. The company moved from Kanata to Hull in June.
"It's most appropriate that the research and development activities of Televitesse and SpaceBridge come to occupy this school house," said Robert Mimeault, President, Televitesse Systems Inc. "Over the course of its history Academie Ste. Marie has graduated classes of grade school children, seen high school students move on to college and, most recently, been the site for continued learning at the university level. Through our activities we continue the tradition of learning and continued development."
Televitesse researchers are perfecting a number of multimedia technologies including accesTV(TM), the world's first intelligent, digital, news alerting software. AccesTV delivers television to the desktop PC, allowing users to selectively track television news and information that affects their business decisions. With its personalized search and news alerting capabilities, accesTV acts like a personal digital assistant, monitoring real-time television broadcasts and alerting the user when it finds clips of interest, based on user-defined profiles.
SpaceBridge Networks Corporation, a recently announced Affiliate with joint investment from Newbridge Networks and COM DEV International Ltd., is focused on the development of broadband products for multimedia satellite networks.
Since 1992, Newbridge has been growing a family of Affiliate companies through direct investment and active support. Affiliates are highly focused, entrepreneurial companies that enable Newbridge to drive the development of specialized products and markets that are complementary to its core business. The strategy is another first for Newbridge in the fast moving technology sector and a further demonstration of the Company's innovative approach to providing superior solutions to customers worldwide. More than 1,000 jobs have been created in Canada through the Newbridge Affiliate program.
Newbridge Networks designs, manufactures, markets and services a comprehensive family of networking products and systems that delivers the power of multimedia communications solutions to organizations in more than 100 countries throughout the world. Newbridge products are the choice of an expanding range of customers which includes the world's 200 largest telecommunications service providers, as well as more than 10,000 corporations and government organizations. The company has facilities throughout Canada, the United States, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Australia.
Newbridge Networks Corporation is a public company whose common shares are listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NN) in the United States and The Toronto Stock Exchange (NNC) in Canada.
c Canada NewsWire - 1997 |