Published July 2001

ATL expanding campus
as Philips begins relocation

By Kimberly Hilden
Herald Business Journal Assistant Editor

ATL Ultrasound is expanding its campus, with a building under construction that will add 140,000 square feet to its Canyon Park facilities.

The three-story building, which will be the fourth building on site, will consolidate ATL’s R&D functions, including engineering and some laboratories, said James Rupple, Senior Director of General Services at ATL.

The consolidation will open up space for Philips Medical Systems, which last month began moving its North American headquarters from Shelton, Conn., to Canyon Park, with plans to co-locate on the campus of its ultrasound division, Rupple said.

Construction of the building began in February and should be completed by February 2002, with Philips Medical Systems employees moving in by April, he said. Until then, those employees will be working in leased space across the street from ATL in the Canyon Park Business Center.

Upon announcing the plan to move company headquarters last August, Jack Price, President and CEO of Philips Medical Systems North America, noted the Puget Sound area’s strong technology base as a strategic advantage.

“If we are to increase our leadership position in the industry, we must continue to build our IT capabilities,” he said in a news release. “Seattle has become a central location for IT business and talent, which makes it an attractive option for us.”

Price also said that being close to ATL will enable the entities to achieve “some operational synergies,” but added that “the two entities will still maintain a large degree of autonomy.”

ATL, which manufactures, distributes and services diagnostic medical ultrasound systems, was acquired by Royal Philips Electronics in 1998.

Philips Medical Systems’ Shelton facility housed about 350 employees, according to the company. As a result of its move to the Puget Sound region, about 150 new positions will be filled, Rupple said.

Seattle-based Baugh Enterprises is the general contractor on the project.

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