Garmin moves into new Alberta headquarters

Toronto may be Canada’s largest hub for tech companies, but it isn’t the only city feeling the industry’s love.

For example, one unlikely town in Alberta just set its foot in the tech game, as the home of the new headquarters for international tech company Garmin Canada.

The GPS technology company, which develops fitness wearables and automotive products, among other products, announced on Tuesday that it was opening new 45,000 square-foot headquarters in Cochrane, Alta.

“The new headquarters is a testament to the rapid growth of Garmin Canada and stands to significantly accelerate technological momentum within the local area and beyond,” the company said in a release.

And while the town is only 30 minutes outside of Calgary (and an hour from Banff), you might be wondering why Garmin Canada chose Cochrane for its new headquarters.

The company actually has a long history in the town originally running under the name Dynastream Innovations Inc., Garmin began as a tech startup in Cochrane back in 1998 before being acquired by U.S.-based Garmin Ltd. in 2006.

In fact, the company continued to be known as Dynastream Innovations Inc. until July of this year when, as reported by the Calgary Herald, it officially became Garmin Canada.

So even with the acquisition the company has chosen to kept its development and engineering teams in Cochrane.

Garmin Canada managing director and Dynastream co-founder Jim Rooney told ITBusiness.ca that the town itself is key to the growth of the company and its products. “Our core research and development for fitness and outdoor products demands our location be one that can support growth and innovation while providing an exceptional outdoor lifestyle,” he said.

He called Cochrane a small vibrant community that allows the company’s workers to be near “world-class mountains” and urban amenities.

Garmin Canada is the inventor of the ANT protocol, which is an ultra-low power (ULP) wireless networking application used in millions of devices around the world, and its facilities are a key site for research and development, according to the release.

Check out Garmin’s new facilities at the top of the page (all photos courtesy Garmin Canada):

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