Tech company opens $25 million expansion in Henderson

At the same time a Henderson technology company announced a $25 million expansion, its products were on board a Navy aircraft searching for the missing Malaysian jetliner.

Computer hardware on board the P-8A Poseidon is produced at Vadatech, which manufactures embedded computers for the defense, aerospace, medical and industrial markets. The company welcomed city, county, state and federal officials to tour its 72,000-square-foot facility, displaying more than $6 million in production equipment, on Friday.

“It’s our belief that this is an emerging market set for huge growth in the next few years,” said Saeed Karamooz, president and CEO of the company. “This new state-of-the-art facility will serve as a centerpiece to springboard Vadatech into that bright future.”

The company produces computers used in everything from magnetic resonance imaging to fighter jets.

About 80 people work in the new building, which opened at the start of the week, and Vadatech expects to hire between 50 and 100 more people this year, according to marketing director Justin Moll.

The facility essentially allows the company to triple its capacity while maintaining another 20,000-square-foot office in Henderson. Vadatech also operated a 12,000-square-foot sales and engineering office, which is closing, and those employees are moving into the new building, according to Moll.

The 10-year-old company, which also has offices in the United Kingdom, Taiwan and Armenia, expects a little less than $40 million in revenue this year, he said.

Vadatech’s hardware is the backbone of a graphic interface that displays digital imagery aboard the Navy’s plane during the search of the Indian Ocean.

So far, no debris has been located in the submarine hunter’s scan of the waters off Australia, according to news reports. Malaysia Airlines Flight MH-370 has been missing for two weeks.

A small group split from the roughly 250 who attended a grand opening ceremony Friday and followed Karamooz on a tour of the three-story, silvery-white building at 198 N. Gibson Road.

He pointed out a tile floor in the first-floor production room specially designed to prevent static electricity laid under an assembly line of giant white computers that spit out computer parts. Any static ultimately could destroy the circuit boards sitting on rows of metal shelving in the room. The design of the circuit boards is performed upstairs.

With a third-floor conference room, classroom and quiet room that each overlook the valley, the building also houses a gym and resort-style showers.

“We’re competing with Silicon Valley,” Karamooz said.

Jonas Peterson, COO with the Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance, pointed to Vadatech’s growth as a sign of a “thriving tech industry” in the valley.

“They are moving us forward in target industries that are going to change the future of Southern Nevada,” he said.

Henderson Mayor Andy Hafen praised the technology company.

“This company is truly remarkable,” the mayor said. “At a time when many companies have struggled or maybe even failed, Vadatech has seen phenomenal growth. And we believe that creating an attractive climate for businesses in Henderson is key to our economic rebound.”

Contact reporter David Ferara at dferrara@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5290.