Garmin 2005 Annual Report Download - page 20

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19
RESOURCES TO MEET GARMIN’S PLAN
FOR GROWTH
Garmin employed 3,034 associates worldwide by the end of 2005, up from 2,484 the previous year. In addition
to expanding our pool of human talent, Garmin has increased manufacturing capacity in order to meet future
demand. Our manufacturing facility in Shijr, Taiwan has outgrown their existing space, so Garmin finalized
the purchase of a larger building in early 2006. The new building, located in Chung-Li, will offer over 220,000
square feet of space to carry out manufacturing and R&D operations for our automotive, marine and out-
door/fitness products. At the end of 2005, Taiwan’s manufacturing resources consisted of 14 SMT (surface
mount technology) lines and 10 assembly lines. Garmin will add additional SMT and assembly lines at the
new facility to meet the anticipated increased demands for our consumer products.
At our North America headquarters in Olathe, Kansas, we have occupied four floors of our new building
with room for future growth. The building currently houses engineering research and development efforts
for consumer products and a customer call center. Our new warehouse and manufacturing facility at Olathe
is fully operational. In nearby Gardner, we completed construction and doubled the capacity of our Flight
Test Facility, where testing and certification efforts continue on our aviation products. Associates at the
Garmin AT facility and hangar in Salem, Oregon, also conduct aviation product development and certifications.
In just over two years since our acquisition of UPS Aviation Technologies, this group of skilled aviation
specialists has made significant contributions to our G1000 certifications and the development of ADS-B
technology. Garmin’s European office in Romsey, U.K., increased its staff nearly 33 percent and is continuing
to fill positions in efforts to expand the European marketing and sales teams.
In support of our growing technological resources, Garmin’s patent portfolio increased to 257 patents issued
as of December 31, 2005 with 171 pending.
Business Week
magazine gave Garmin’s patent portfolio a high
ranking in an article published in the December 26, 2005 issue.