How to Build an International Office in 72 Hours

Dec 5, 2014

On December 4th, the Swedish multi-national firm Syntronic officially opened its first R&D facility in North America. They are Sweden’s leading design house in the area of electronics, electro-mechanics and software for various industries such as telecommunications, medical technology and defence. Expansion into the North American market, has always been a goal since their founding in 1983. However, Syntronic only recently began the formal process of moving to the Western Hemisphere.

(From Left to Right) Jack MacLaren. Per Sjogren, Hans Molin, Marianne Wilkinson, Jim Watson

The celebration took place in their newly renovated Kanata office, where the now 30 member team was joined by local councillors, the Mayor of Ottawa, Provincial MPP’s and the Swedish Ambassador to Canada. Hans Molin, Managing Director of Syntronic Canada, says he was proud and overwhelmed as he looked out over the crowd. The reason being; it can often take six months to establish an international office. Molin did it in a matter of days.

When Molin and his family flew into the nation’s capital this past summer, Invest Ottawa was waiting at the airport ready to assist with every step. Within thee next three days, Molin accomplished the following:

• Found Office Space
• Conducted 100 interviews
• Hired 30 new employees
• Filed all the necessary legal paperwork and permits
• Enrolled his children into schools, hockey and ballet lessons
• Found a home for his family in a Kanata neighbourhood

Molin says the quick success of this expansion was only possible with the support of Invest Ottawa.

Now Syntronic is focusing on growing its current customer base in North America and plans to hire an additional 90 employees in Ottawa, over the next five years. Congratulations to Syntronic on the hard earned success.

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