RealWear, a wearable technology company based in Silicon Valley, is opening an office in Vancouver.
Announced during Vancouver Mayor Tim Leavitt’s State of the City Address in late March, the company has signed a letter of intent to occupy 12,000 square feet of space in the newly-renovated Artillery Barracks at the Fort Vancouver National Site.
According to Andy Lowery, RealWear CEO, the expansion will help the company meet the demand for its flagship product, HMT-1 – a voice-driven, hands-free, head-mounted tablet. The wearable is designed for skilled technicians and engineers in field service, equipment inspection, maintenance and complex manufacturing assembly, and is expected to launch in July.
“We selected Vancouver for its vibrant, growing business environment, talent pool, economic advantages and quality of life offerings for our employees,” said Lowery in a press release. “The superb facilities at Fort Vancouver and the enthusiasm and dedication of the people we met from the City of Vancouver, the Fort Vancouver National Trust and the CREDC (Columbia River Economic Development Council) only made our decision easier. We are thrilled to be in Vancouver and expect that our expansion will provide us the support and flexibility we need to grow our company rapidly and efficiently.”
The company, which was recently awarded “Best Enterprise Solution” at the 2017 Wearable Technology Show in London, England, said 20 to 30 employees will be relocated to the area by this Fall. By the end of 2018, the office is expected to accommodate around 100 employees, resulting in job creation across a range of fields including engineering, logistics, design, IT, finance and more.
“We are thrilled that RealWear has chosen Vancouver as its Pacific Northwest home, and look forward to the addition of this company to our burgeoning network of tech companies,” said Mayor Leavitt. “This move shows once again that our city is a great place for companies to do business and I know they will enjoy the many amenities and high quality of life that Vancouver offers.”
Mike True, president and CEO of the Fort Vancouver Trust, said that the presence of RealWear in the newly-renovated Barracks will create a new vitality for downtown Vancouver.
“Bringing new technology-based business into a freshly renovated historic building is a perfect way to sustain and honor our community’s history, while looking toward the future,” he said.
The company will be the latest addition to the Vancouver-Camas Innovation Partnership Zone (IPZ) – a designation awarded by the Washington State Department of Commerce to promote and build industry clusters. In the fall of 2013, the Vancouver-Camas zone was dubbed ‘applied digital technology accelerator’ due to established tech companies located downtown and along the 192nd Avenue corridor.
“We are excited to welcome RealWear to Clark County, where they will be a great addition to the IPZ community in Vancouver and Camas,” said Mike Bomar, CREDC president. “The software as well as computer and electronics industries are growing clusters in the region and RealWear’s decision to locate its first major expansion here will be a great boost to add to the momentum we’ve been building in these sectors.”
The move-in process is expected to take several months.
Update: This article has been updated to include employee count information.
