Saab UK has expanded its presence in Hull, creating more tech jobs in a city plugging itself into the digital economy.
The Swedish giant’s public safety and security business has taken a new larger office in Hull’s @TheDock tech campus.
The company now occupies an entire 4,100 sq ft floor of the Fruit Market complex.
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It will act as a base for future developments and innovation in the sector it is operating in.
Since first opening in 2015, it has grown from one to 44 employees with further recruitment ongoing.
The highly skilled software development and IT support services offered from the office currently support a number of police forces in the UK and Ireland with their game-changing unified command and control solution, Safe.
Simon Read, director of public safety and security at Saab UK, said: “Our expansion requires recruitment which will see our workforce grow further after an already successful year of new-hires. This bolsters the ongoing support and commitment to our customers in control rooms across the country.”
Saab is best known in the UK for car manufacturing, but it is now defined by aerospace and defence, with digital ventures increasing. Car production ceased more than a decade ago.
With NEC also in Hull providing services in the same arena, it is becoming something of a niche within a buoyant tech sector.
Hull and Hessle MP, Emma Hardy, did the honours, on the back of recently helping The 55 Group with their city expansion.
She said: “Seeing a business like Saab UK further expand its presence in Hull is a great sign that the area is attractive to business and skilled employees alike. Along with substantial recent investment in the area, Hull’s high speed fibre connectivity makes it a great place to work, both in-office and remotely. I look forward to seeing what is next for the team.”
Those behind the @TheDock say it has a growing reputation as a location for world-class business. It is one of Wykeland Group’s flagship developments, with the £15 million waterfront location seen as a major catalyst for the growth of the city’s digital economy, with the Centre for Digital Innovation tech hub the centrepiece.
John Gouldthorp, asset manager for Wykeland, owner and developer of @TheDock, said: “We’re delighted Saab is expanding again to a new, much larger office space. Saab also remains an invaluable member of the C4DI community and we’re incredibly proud to have businesses of this calibre as a part of our tech hotspot.”
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