In the midst of significant wireless device growth in the Internet of Things (IoT) market, Taoglas USA, Inc., has opened a new facility for its North American customers in San Diego.
Quadrupling the original size of its local facility — it’s now more than 16,000 square feet — the Taoglas IoTx Center offers a design and test location that supports companies seeking a competitive, time-to-market advantage for M2M and IoT applications.
This location offers unrivalled support for customers at all stages of their product design cycle – from concept to certification readiness. Preparation, planning, experience and the tools to test and debug issues are critical in first time success. Taoglas have founded the IoTx Center to get that all done quickly and effectively.
“This kind of open-door policy is rare in the antenna and wireless device testing business,” explained Dermot O’Shea, president of Taoglas USA. “We have expanded our engineering team, added more test equipment and now have two chambers here to increase design and test capacity. As well as being able to prototype antennas and PCBs, etc. we can test the antenna and devices in operation on site to ensure they work reliably in the real world. We have also now added an antenna and cable assembly operation so we can quickly produce antenna and custom RF cable orders here in San Diego. Quite often customers require products in a few days rather than weeks and we have now facilitated that demand with this new move.”
Taoglas has dedicated this facility to support its North American customer base. San Diego was chosen as an excellent location due to the strong, experienced talent pool in the areas of antenna and hardware design.
In addition to the site’s two CTIA calibrated anechoic chambers, the campus includes a custom antenna and RF cable assembly facility, expanded development and office space as well as a well-equipped, sound-proofed customer lounge area with workspaces and other features to accommodate customers while testing and product development are in process. Taoglas will increase its San Diego staff by 50% this year and expects to double that in the next three years.
“Our enlarged San Diego facility reflects our growth rate last year of almost 100%,” explained O’Shea. “We’re bullish about the potential in the Internet of Things market, which is key for us. The vendors in this space who we support not only need the off-the-shelf or custom antennas we offer, they need design services and assistance. All our services have clear explanations and fast deliverables, all available on our website. You just select your service code, or call our sales, and we will book you in for work on your device immediately. No waiting around or complicated contractual discussions. First time certification is also critical so wireless OEMs can avoid the hardware failures that are so common in the IoT sector. Having two anechoic testing chambers means we can work on multiple devices in real time, helping customers get successful products into the market first time and on time.”
Taoglas’ expanded San Diego facility is coming on board at an ideal time in the IoT market. According to International Data Corp., this market will grow to $1.7 trillion by 2020, with a compound annual growth rate of 16.9%. “We’re currently shipping millions of antennas per month into the IoT market,” noted O’Shea. “Our larger campus here will be well utilised.” Taoglas also has offices in Minneapolis, Ireland, Taiwan and Germany.
On hand for the official ribbon cutting of the enlarged Taoglas site on January 22 will be Philip Grant, Consul General of Ireland to the Western United States. “The expansion of an Irish company in the North American market is a great example of how Irish technology and business ingenuity can contribute to local economies. Taoglas has been servicing this region from San Diego for only five years so such growth is quite impressive.”
According to X the enlarged Taoglas campus is another sign of success in the local business community. “San Diego already has a strong base in IoT growth and this large new Taoglas IoTx facility cements San Diego as an IoT hub in a very hot sector. I also like the fact that Taoglas has been collaborating with SDSU (San Diego State University), building useful bridges between the business and educational communities.”
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