Saville Systems, the Galway-based technology company bought earlier this week or $700 million (€673 million) by ADC Telecommunications, is to become its new parent's European software headquarters. Saville said yesterday it was already in discussions with IDA Ireland about hiring more staff.
Speaking at the formal opening of a new £6 million (€7.62 million) facility beside its existing premises on the IDA business park in Galway, Saville's chairman and chief executive, Mr Jack Boyle, said being part of ADC would give Saville "a global footprint".
"When you combine our recently-announced proposal to merge with ADC Telecommunications, Saville's traditional strength, and explosive growth in the European telecommunications market, we expect to be part of Galway's expansion as a base for high technology industry for years to come," Mr Boyle said.
Saville, with 1,400 employees world-wide, develops integrated billing systems for telecommunications companies. In 1998 its revenues were $168 million. In 1995, the company floated on New York's Nasdaq stock exchange, nominating Galway as its official headquarters.
ADC, based in Minneapolis, is a global supplier of telecommunications voice, video and data systems. It has a staff of 9,600 and annual sales of $1.5 billion.
Mr Boyle said Saville's Galway facility, which now employs 200 people, would become ADC's European software headquarters and "centre for excellence".
Mr Oliver Daniels, a former Nortel Networks executive and a native of Galway, is to run the operation.
The building was opened yesterday by the Minister of State for Science, Technology and Commerce, Mr Noel Treacy. Although it is not yet at capacity, Mr Boyle confirmed that the company is already in talks with the IDA about a further expansion. He would not speculate on the scale of any possible investment in terms of capital or jobs.
IDA executives said this week they were delighted with the takeover of Saville, as they had been trying to attract ADC to the Republic for some time. The agency regards ADC as a high-performing, rapidly-expanding company in a growth sector.
ADC said its average growth for several years had been around 25 per cent. The company's chairman and chief executive, Mr Bill Cadogan, said that including Saville, some 30 per cent of the company's revenue currently came from software. Within three years, he predicted, 40 per cent of ADC's business would be in software.
