Cell phone maker HTC to open office in Durham's American Tobacco

Taiwanese cell phone maker HTC said today that it plans to lease space in downtown Durham's American Tobacco Campus.

HTC is leasing about 15,000 square feet, plus an additional 12,000 square feet for future expansion.

The company said the facility, a new research and development office, will employ 45 people initially.

“HTC has been successful bringing its unique brand of people-centric innovation to consumers, and with the establishment of this new R&D office, we are taking an important step to extend our leadership position in the wireless industry,” said Ron Louks, chief strategy officer for HTC, in a release.

“Durham is a perfect place to open our new R&D office because we are able to tap into this deep pool of technical talent that complements HTC’s leading-edge R&D efforts going on around the world.”

The announcement is a major win for both downtown Durham and American Tobacco.

In October, the Durham City Council approved $150,000 in incentives for HTC. A proposal before the council said HTC expected to create 99 jobs over five years.

The average annual wage for jobs would be $125,000.

The state has not approved any incentives for HTC.

HTC joins a growing cluster of mobile technology companies that have recently opened offices in the Triangle.

Garmin, the country's largest maker of satellite navigation devices, opened a research center in Cary in April, and BlackBerry maker Research in Motion has said it plans to add an office in the region.

HTC was also considering the Seattle area, where it has its North American headquarters, and Atlanta, which had offered the company $250,000 in economic incentives.

HTC employs about 250 people in the U.S. and more than 10,000 worldwide.

HTC started out as a contract maker of mobile phones. It began making handsets under its own brand in 2006.

The company is the world's largest producer of phones that use Microsoft's Windows operating system.

HTC also makes smart phones that use Google's Android operating system.