Dasan Zhone Solutions is moving their headquarters from Oakland, California to Plano, Texas. The company has stated that the move will help them gain access to a large talent pool of engineers while reducing start-up costs. In their statement, DZS expressed their excitement for the opportunity to leverage North Texas’ resources.
DZS operates in more than 80 countries across the world, working with over 900 customers, including service providers, enterprises, and operators. The company currently has over 700 employees. DZS is a publicly traded company with a market value of about 160 million; the telecommunications technology company also reported a net loss last quarter. The planned move did not seem to negatively affect shares in DZS, the value of which remained largely unchanged in midday trading on March 2nd, the day the Plano “Engineering Center of Excellence” was announced.
CEO of Dasan Zhone Solutions Yung Kim hailed the move as an important development in the history of his company, adding that the Dallas area has many excellent engineers working with next generation wireless, as well as network virtualization and abstraction. The move has the additional benefit of placing them in closer proximity to key customers. IT staffing will also be a critical part of the company’s push to advance telecommunications technology.
Other centers of excellence operated by the Dasan Zhone Solutions are found in Asia, the Americas, Europe, and the Middle East. Manufacturing for the company takes place in the United States of America, as well as in Germany.
Previously, they have focused on network technology, including switches and other hardware, wi-fi and the advancement of 5g. While they will maintain a Silicon Valley presence, the new Plano facility will specialize in advanced technologies like next-gen fiber access, network functions virtualization (NFV), 5g technology, and software defined access (SDN).
A tech boom seems to be starting in North Texas. The region’s business-friendly reputation seems to be paying off, attracting large companies, and therefore lots of jobs, to the area. The question of if economic growth is bigger in Texas, too, may soon be answered. Dasan Zhone Solutions is not the only company moving away from headquarters in Silicon Valley and turning to North Texas. Big companies like McKesson and Charles Schwab are moving too, seeking lower costs and a more business-friendly environment among other benefits. Since 2010, more than one million square feet of the office space lost in California has gone to North Texas.
The statement from DZS did not include a projected end date for the move or the opening of the Plano facility.