The Denver area continues to be in a strong growth period. Our real estate market is being supported by strong population and job growth. Here is a highlight of the new companies and industries thriving in the metro area. Many of the companies who are adding jobs to the metro area credited Denver with having a “Strong ability to attract and retain great talent,” a “Strong start up environment,” “A city committed to transit infrastructure,” “Great energy around tech and innovation,” “Quality of life and affordability,” and lots of young professionals!
Additionally, we have had strong interest in international travel and have increased our international business footprint. Denver International Airport is now the 5th largest airport in the US. Recently, DIA broke ground on the new gate expansion project that will add 39 new gates by 2021. This will increase the capacity by 30 percent. There have also been some new direct international flights added, including Copa to Panama City, United to Tokyo, Norwegian to Paris and London, Edelweiss to Zurich, Sun Country to Mazatlan and Lufthansa to Munich!
Large Companies Moving in 2018~
HomeAdvisor- Provides online services for home improvement and maintenance projects and had called Golden home. They are moving their headquarters to RINO. Accelo- Produces project management software and was based out of Australia before relocating to the Bay Area in 2011. They are opening a new headquarters in Denver and adding 800 jobs. Slack Technologies- the rapidly growing workplace messaging platform based in San Francisco will be adding a Denver office and up to 500 positions. Maxar Technologies- develops satellites and geospatial intelligence technology and has chosen Westminster as a new headquarters. They also acquired DigitalGlobe this year which already has a home in Westminster. Overall they will add 800 jobs to the Denver area. Strava- is focused on providing social networking and activity tracking apps for distance runners and cyclists. They have opened a Denver based office and hope to add 75-100 jobs.
Start Up Companies to Watch~
builtincolorado.com issued a list of 50 startups to watch in Colorado. Here are a few startups they featured. Canvas Technologies- builds a self-driving cart that can weave its way through the ever-changing environment of a warehouse. They use 3D mapping and cutting edge computer vision. Thrive Pass- works to help companies with wellness programs through its “wellness savings account.” Employees can select from an extensive list of fitness and health options, including gyms, yoga studios and acupuncturists. Salt Lending- members can use their blockchain assets to obtain a cash loan of any size without selling their collateral. SALT simply holds assets, matches them with a lender and then returns them once the loan is repaid. Inform Inc.- Have you ever lost your keys, phone or wallet? The tech startup’s thumbnail sized Mu tag clips onto an object and utilized cloud-based machine learning to track where your belonging is and when you last saw it. FoodMaven- FoodMaven’s goal is to take a bite out of the waste and save restaurants money in the process. The startup works with food distributors and manufacturers in Colorado to sell oversupplied food to restaurants and kitchen for half the price. They then donate the rest. For the full list visit: https://www.builtincolorado.com/2018/01/16/50-colorado-tech-startups-watch-2018
Major Relocations or Expansions~
Lockheed Martin- (Aerospace) 100’s of jobs over the next 7 years
Helix- (Personal Genomics) expanding to Denver.
Niceland Foods- (Icelandic Seafood Company) Moving Headquarters to Denver.
Ball’s Aerospace- (Aerospace) Expanding in Westminster over 700 new jobs.
Fidelity Investments- (Financial Services) Hiring over 100 new positions.
Alttera Mountain Company- (Ski Industry) Moving headquarters to Denver and adding over 100 jobs.
Polaris Alpha- (Defense contractor) Adding over 500 jobs over the next 8 years in the South Metro Area.
Epsilon- (Marketing Research Firm) Moving headquarters to Jeffco adding 500 new jobs in next few years.
For a full list of new companies visit : http://www.metrodenver.org/do-business/news-deals/