Altium to relocate R&D & PCB CAD divisions to San Diego

The relocation to San Diego, where Altium has had a long-established sales and operational presence, represents a natural next-step in the implementation of Altium’s renewed growth strategy. It is a result of the focus on PCB design tools and solutions for the PCB design market. The decision was made to allow Altium’s CAD division to be more accessible to customers and partners, while still offering global growth potential.

"This move to the U.S. will not only allow Altium to be closer to customers in key markets," says Martin Harris, Chief Sales Officer at Altium, "it will also provide us the opportunity to work closer with our sales channels and strategic partners as well as with the contributors to our 3rd party development network, which uses the openness of Altium Designer to develop solutions for our user community."

The company has also re-defined its Internet of Things (IoT) strategy to be in alignment with its core business of the development of world-class PCB design tools. Being close to technology partners in an emerging market has been a driver for the presence in Shanghai. Most parts of the objectives behind that journey have been achieved. China remains an important market for Altium, and is the best location for the company’s IoT division. Altium’s TASKING division – which develops tools for embedded software development with a huge user base in the automotive industry – will remain unchanged and continue to be located in the Netherlands.

While the CEO and key executives in the Altium corporate office will also relocate to the USA, the corporate and senior leadership team will continue to be globally mobile to support key markets and the company’s worldwide operations. The United States will nevertheless be a strong area of focus as Altium seeks to expand and grow its PCB business. The relocation of Altium’s PCB CAD division to the USA is planned to occur, for the most part, in Q4 2014.