North American telecommunications company BTI Systems is to establish a £6m sterling European headquarters and software centre of excellence in Belfast, resulting in 60 technology jobs for the city.
The investment, supported by Invest NI, was announced by Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster. BTI Systems, a global supplier of Intelligent Service Edge solutions will invest £6.7m sterling in the region, creating 60 high-quality jobs over the next three years.
Intelligent Service Edge solutions include the development of state of the art systems for the delivery of high-bandwidth voice, video and data communications.
“BTI Systems will create 60 high-quality software engineering posts over the next three years, delivering an additional £2.3m sterling annually in wages and salaries into the local economy,” Minister Foster said.
“This project is the culmination of over 12 months’ work by Invest Northern Ireland, and will provide high-value career opportunities and contribute to Northern Ireland’s growing ICT sector. It is particularly pleasing to secure the project in such difficult global economic conditions that have already seen some investors opt to defer their growth plans.
“Today’s announcement is positive news which strongly reinforces Northern Ireland’s reputation as a cost-competitive location for investment by international firms seeking to grow their businesses, particularly in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region.
“This new European base will allow BTI Systems to access the highly skilled people and knowledge infrastructure that have attracted some of the world’s most prestigious technology firms to Northern Ireland.
“I am very much looking forward to meeting with US representatives from BTI Systems in Boston, when I lead the Invest NI trade mission to Boston and San Francisco later this month.”
BTI Systems is a global leader in the development of advanced optical telecoms solutions and specialises in innovative products that enable the transport of data at high speed, primarily via fibre-optic networks.
Gregory Koss, chairman and CEO, BTI Systems added: “The BTI Systems Belfast headquarters will be our main centre of operation in Europe, bringing us closer to new and existing customers and enabling us to continue our rapid growth in the EMEA region.
“Northern Ireland offers many advantages as a regional hub. BTI plans to leverage the local talent pool to grow the company’s software development efforts, expand its global footprint and continue to deliver best-in-class technologies and solutions to the European marketplace.”
By John Kennedy
