Telecom company SES building $17M facility in Prince William

Luxembourg-based telecommunications company SES will invest $17 million in a new U.S. hub facility in Prince William County facility where it will merge its satellite and network operations, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam announced Thursday. The facility is expected to create up to 200 net jobs by 2026.

“In consolidating our local SES satellite and network operations and selecting a U.S. hub to house them all, we needed to consider our employees’ commutes, locale of our existing satellite infrastructure investments, and access to a broader engineering talent pool,” SES CEO Steve Collar said in a statement. “We are pleased that we have landed on the ideal location of Prince William County, as this new hub provides SES with the space to continue providing seamless services and aligns with our goal to deliver future-proof and innovative solutions for customers while adapting how we will work in a post-pandemic world. With more people demanding more connectivity and data services, we will also be looking at engaging top talent across Virginia to grow our technology and global services teams in the coming months and would welcome candidates’ applications from the area.”

The facility will be located at 8050 Piney Branch Lane in the Piney Industrial Park in Prince William’s Bristow area.

SES is a global terrestrial and satellite telecommunications network provider. Its satellites include the medium Earth orbit O3b internet satellite constellation, as well as the European Astra television satellites, which reach more than 360 million households. The company has roughly 2,100 employees worldwide.

Virginia competed with Maryland and Washington, D.C., for the project. The Virginia Economic Development Partnership worked with Prince William County to secure the project for Virginia. Northam approved a $500,000 grant from the Commonwealth’s Opportunity Fund to assist Prince William County with the project. SES is eligible to receive benefits from the Major Business Facility Job Tax Credit for new, full-time jobs created. Funding and services to support SES employee recruitment and training activities will be provided through VEDP’s Virginia Jobs Investment Program.

“The growing presence of SES in Prince William County is an indication that the region and the commonwealth have the infrastructure, workforce, and strategic access to help technology businesses thrive,” Northam said in a statement. “Northern Virginia is renowned for its world-class technology talent pipeline, which will pay significant dividends for SES as the company continues to grow and execute its business plan.”