Garmin Opens Detroit Office
Olathe, Kan.-based Garmin International Inc., a unit of Garmin Ltd. (NASDAQ: GRMN), announced that it would open an office in the Detroit area to support current automotive customers and develop new global business opportunities.
"This new office will expand our presence in the Detroit area and provide our present and future OEM customers with immediate, on-the-ground service," said Cliff Pemble, Garmin's president and COO. "Garmin's broad strengths and capabilities, including vertical integration, user interface design, track record for performance and reliability, combined with a rapid product development cycle already set Garmin apart from the competition. Having an office located at the hub of the automotive industry will only improve our ability to serve our global customers."
Located in Novi, the new office will support a staff of Garmin associates that specialize in automotive sales, marketing, and engineering disciplines. The facility will include both offices and vehicle preparation facilities for product design, development and demonstration. The office is scheduled to open May 1.
Heading up the new office and leading Garmin's overall automotive business is industry veteran Matthew Munn, Garmin International vice president, managing director automotive OEM.
With more than 25 years of experience in the high-growth, global automotive OEM business, Munn has deep cross-functional market knowledge of factory installed GPS-based digital infotainment systems. Munn will be responsible for all automotive business activities, including the implementation of a cohesive brand, product, and technology marketing strategy to serve the worldwide automotive OEM market.
"I was attracted to Garmin because their market breadth and brand reputation in the GPS industry is second to none, having developed innovative products and established a leadership position in each of the markets they serve," Munn said. "Their capability and commitment to rapidly implement leading-edge connected technologies into the dashboard will result in high-performance system solutions that are both cost-effective to the OEM and useful to the driver."
Garmin provides a broad range of in-vehicle electronics for the automotive industry, including automotive grade infotainment and telematics systems, navigation software, location-based services, and integrated portable navigation systems. At the end of 2010, the independent research firm Canalys reported that Garmin is the global leader in the sale of portable navigation devices, with 38 percent market share.
Since its inception in 1989, Garmin has delivered 82 million GPS enabled devices -- more than any other navigation provider. Its products span automotive, aviation, marine, fitness, outdoor recreation and wireless applications.
More at www.garmin.com.
