Electronics Supplier dSpace Moves to Bigger Digs

WIXOM, MI – Saying it had outgrown its old digs and needs room to grow, dSpace Inc. cut the ribbon on its new North American headquarters here in late July.

The new 35,000-sq.-ft. (3,252-sq.-m) location, not far from Ford Motor Co.’s recently idled Wixom assembly plant, more than doubles the square footage of dSpace’s old facilities in the nearby city of Novi.

While many auto suppliers are struggling with hard times, dSpace appears to be growing along with the soaring use of vehicle electronics.

Headquartered in Paderborn, Germany, the supplier produces engineering tools for the development and testing of electronic-control units now used extensively in vehicles and aerospace.

Product lines include dSpace Systems for rapid control prototyping and simulators that test and validate networked embedded controllers and ECUs.

In addition to Detroit’s Big Three, the company has a long list of automotive customers: auto makers from Audi AG to Toyota Motor Corp. and suppliers from American Axle & Mfg. to Visteon Corp.

“Our staff grew by 30% in 2006, and we expect this growth pattern to continue in the foreseeable future, based on strong demand for our products, both in the automotive and aerospace/defense sectors,” says Kevin Kott, president of dSpace’s North American unit.

dSpace purchased 2-story building, formerly occupied by Durr Environmental, in January.

About 40 employees currently are housed at the new facility. DSpace has more than 700 employees worldwide.

Besides more office space, the new facility features a dedicated garage for customer vehicle testing as well as expanded laboratories for production and development.

The electronics supplier purchased the 2-story building, formerly occupied by Durr Environmental, in January and has made substantial renovations.

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