New Vello Systems' Facility Opened

Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster has officially opened a new research and development facility in Belfast.

Last year, Silicon Valley-based firm, Vello Systems Inc, said it was to create 71 jobs in the region, with support from Invest NI and which would generate more £2.4m annually in salaries.

Vello Systems Inc, which is based in California, develops highly innovative technology, which is used to provide solutions for data centre networking. Of the 71 new jobs available, more than half will be software engineers working on R&D activities, with the remainder carrying out a range of marketing, customer service and business development activities.

Currently, 30 staff members have started working for the company.

Speaking at the opening, Minister Foster said: "Vello's team in Belfast has been making steady progressing in building the company's presence, with almost half of its planned workforce already in place.

"Northern Ireland is renowned for the quality of its workforce particularly in terms of ICT and Vello joins a number of other major international firms who report very positive experiences of working here.

"The IT sector continues to be a priority for the NI Executive and Invest NI, as we work to rebuild and rebalance our economy. This dynamic company is working at the cutting edge of software defined networking, an emerging subsector of the IT industry and it is great to see its continued development here in Northern Ireland."

Vello President and Chief Executive, Karl May, added: "Belfast is our first major office for product development outside the US, and the combination of real talent available on the ground, and Belfast's proximity to key European markets, were two of the key factors that influenced our final decision to base a critical business function in Northern Ireland.

"We have been incredibly impressed, not just with the infrastructure, talent pool and strong R&D base, but also with the genuine support offered to Vello by Invest NI over the last year.

"We are counting on our new operation in Belfast to create many of these new cloud-enabling service offerings over the coming months and years."

(JP/MH)