Toshiba Corp. executives are weighing an expansion of the 23-acre campus the company owns in the Irvine Spectrum, which is home to key segments of its sprawling U.S. operations.
Company brass on both sides of the Pacific are nearing a decision on whether to add buildings and parking to accommodate growth in Irvine.
“It’s going to have to be made in six months,” Mark Simons, chief executive of Irvine-based Toshiba America Information Systems Inc., said last month at a lunch meeting in Las Vegas during the International Consumer Electronics Show. “We’re at 100% capacity.”
The unit, part of New York-based holding company Toshiba America Inc., handles U.S. sales and marketing for its Japanese parent’s line of consumer electronics, including TVs, laptops, PCs, tablets and other devices.
It’s one of Toshiba’s five major U.S. business units headquartered in Orange County, and the largest in terms of sales, with some $3 billion in annual revenue.
Other units with headquarters at the 445,000-square-foot building at 9740 Irvine Blvd. include: Toshiba America Business Solutions Inc., a printing equipment and services business; chip and memory products maker Toshiba America Electronic Components Inc.; and a distribution arm Toshiba Logistics America Inc.
A key consideration on a prospective expansion in Irvine is Toshiba America Medical Systems Inc., which occupies 118,000 square feet at 2441 Michelle Drive in Tustin. The medical device maker, which moved some of its operations to the Irvine campus last year, has a lease through 2016.
The various Toshiba units would together face a tight construction deadline if a decision is made to shift the medical device unit to the Irvine campus.
“If we do have them come to the campus, we’re going to have to build,” Simons said.
Company executives haven’t spelled out any alternatives to an expansion in Irvine.
Parking, a perpetual challenge for Irvine office tenants, will present another hurdle. Toshiba will likely have to build a parking structure to accommodate new workers and future employees, according to Simons.
“Irvine is very firm about a parking place for every employee,” he said. “We’re at 100% parking.”
The move toward consolidation was prompted by management in Tokyo, who wanted to centralize the uppermost tier of its various U.S. operations, which together include 104 offices and some 8,000 employees spread throughout the nation.
Toshiba took a first step in 2012 with Toshiba America Business.
The chip and memory business concluded its move to the Irvine campus in July from 19900 MacArthur Blvd. in Irvine. The logistics unit followed, with the overall consolidation winding down in September.
Toshiba’s U.S. units generate nearly $7 billion in annual revenue, or about 11% of its parent’s $61.7 billion in yearly sales.
The units with headquarters in Orange County account for a majority of Toshiba’s U.S. revenue. The company overall employs more than 1,500 workers here, the third-largest among foreign-owned companies, according to Business Journal research. About 1,140 employees work at the Irvine campus.
Toshiba America Information is the largest local unit, with 490 employees. Toshiba America Business employs about 400 here and nearly 3,100 total in the U.S. It has just under $1 billion in annual revenue.
The unit is seeing growing demand for its burgeoning line of digital signage, evident by last year’s $3 million deal to install one of the largest and brightest scoreboards in the minor leagues. The 30-by-82-foot scoreboard, which features nearly 3 million LED lamps, will debut in April when the Charlotte Knights—the Chicago White Sox’ AAA affiliate—opens its new $54 million stadium BB&T Ballpark.
Toshiba remains committed to Irvine and has a “strong affinity” to stay here, according to Scott Maccabe, who took the reins at Irvine-based Toshiba America Business in July.
“From my organization specifically, I don’t see any near-term challenges of space management,” he said. “But over the course of the next couple of years, we have to take a hard look [at] how we expand.”
