Sunnyvale-based defense contractor Applied Signal Technology Inc. has relocated its local operations within Anaheim.
The company, which makes electronics and software for monitoring communications and other uses, has moved into 15,000 square feet of space at a new office building off the Riverside (91) Freeway in Anaheim Hills.
The company’s seven-year lease is valued at about $3.2 million, or about $2.55 per square foot a month, according to Voit Real Estate Services’ Mike Boomer, who served as the lead leasing agent in the deal.
Applied Signal’s new space is part of a three-story building developed by Anaheim-based Silver Oak Development and completed early last year.
The 75,000-square-foot building at 160 N. Riverview Drive now is 89% full, Boomer said.
Applied Signal’s new office is about two blocks away from its old Anaheim location, according to Karen Urell, the company’s office administrator in Orange County.
“We occupy about 75% of the building’s third floor and have about triple the space as before,” she said.
The new space was configured from scratch, according to William Van Vleet, Applied Signal’s chief executive.
“It was an empty floor when we started this process,” he said. “We were able to customize the space to suit our particular needs in Orange County.”
The company’s sign recently went up on the building overlooking the freeway, Van Vleet said.
“It gives us very good visibility,” he said.
Applied Signal is near the local operation of General Dynamics Corp., which is in a neighboring building. Boeing Co. also has operations nearby in Anaheim. The office’s location, at the county’s eastern edge near the Riverside County line, helps in recruiting engineers, according to Van Vleet.
“It’s about as far east as we could physically go in Orange County and attract employees from Riverside County,” he said.
Applied Signal employs about 25 people in Anaheim and is looking to nearly double that in the next year, Van Vleet said.
The company came to Anaheim about three years ago.
“The reason why we came to Orange County was because of its experienced base of engineers. So we’re very much in a hiring mode,” Van Vleet said.
Applied Signal builds equipment and offers services related to surveillance, intelligence and reconnaissance. Its customers are government agencies and large defense contractors.
Locally, the company is marketing its technology to apply to underwater sonar systems.
“Our equipment allows high-resolution images to be taken of sea floors,” Van Vleet said. “Our customers use those systems to look for mines and explosives. They can also be used by oil and gas companies to take a look at their underwater pipelines.”
Applied Signal’s local operation also works on equipment used to find crashed aircraft and to sift through shipwrecks, he said.
One of Applied Signal’s growth areas is software to protect government communications and computer networks against cyberterrorists, he said.
About two-thirds of the Anaheim office is devoted to combating cyberterrorism, Van Vleet said.
Last month, Applied Signal bought security services provider Seismic LLC of Maryland for $25 million.
Seismic had revenue of $15 million and is expected to grow 20% to 30% annually “and provide steady revenue contributions,” Van Vleet said.
“It’s a big growth area for us and that’s why we bought the company,” he said.
Applied Signal has yearly revenue of about $220 million.
The company’s Anaheim operation generates about $10 million in yearly revenue, according to Van Vleet.
Applied Signal started 26 years ago in Silicon Valley as an engineering company specializing in equipment to intercept military radio communications.
The company grew rapidly after the 2001 terrorist attacks, Van Vleet said.
“We’ve probably seen about a 10% a year growth rate over the last four years,” he said.
