Lionbridge Technologies Inc., a $400 million publically traded company that provides testing solutions for technology applications and web content, has opened a new 34,000-square-foot office in Vancouver’s Columbia Tech Center and is looking to hire 40 to 50 employees over the next six months.
Lionbridge is a longtime contractor for laboratory services for Hewlett-Packard, according to Portland-based commercial real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield. The firm helped arrange the technology company’s five-year lease for the Tech Center space last spring.
Rich Gordon, Lionbridge’s vice president of Global Development and Testing Operations (GDT), is responsible for the company’s operations in Vancouver.
“This move is exciting for us,” said Gordon. “We’ve been in the region for about ten years now, but this new facility and the growth of the company is going to add quite a few jobs here.”
Last year, Lionbridge had approximately 150 employees working in the area. Today, that number is up to 260.
“Certainly we have room to grow even further,” added Gordon. “Our experience working in the Vancouver area has shown us there is a readily available workforce that has the right skill set for our needs. We expect our business in Vancouver to continue to grow.”
Gordon could only refer to his company’s client and Tech Center neighbor as “the customer,” per an existing nondisclosure agreement. He said Lionbridge’s investment in the new facility was a big part of what kept that customer in Clark County.
“At one point they were contemplating moving completely out of the area,” explained Gordon. “They didn’t have the funding for the Tech Center facility, so they asked us if we would be interested in it. So we invested several million dollars in getting the build-out done, which in effect, kept a lot of the hardware testing jobs that would have moved out of the area, in Vancouver.
“This is a long-term relationship, and we are investing in it,” he added.
Lionbridge fast facts:
• Founded: 1996
• Headquarters: Waltham, Massachusetts
• Employees: 4,500
• Locations: Solution Centers in 26 countries
• Revenue: $405 million (2010)
• NASDAQ: LIOX
New Vancouver office:
• Grand opening: Wednesday, October 5th
• Location: 1115 SE 164th Avenue in Vancouver (Columbia Tech Center)
• Size: 34,000 square feet
• No. of employees: 260
• Hiring over next 6 months: 40-50 employees
