Tquila Automation plans to open a hub of technical and delivery expertise for its North American clients in an historic downtown Birmingham building. The Texas-based company will create 200 jobs over the next five years and provide a boost to the city’s growing high-tech sector.
Tquila Automation will be located in the 65,000-square-foot former Edwards Motor Co. building, which has been rehabilitated by Nextec LLC. The building is in the city’s innovation district, dubbed The Switch.
An automation consultancy, Tquila Automation helps businesses streamline their functions by focusing on robotic process automation, artificial intelligence, machine learning and other emerging technologies. It serves clients in the manufacturing, FMCG, financial services, energy, and insurance and other industries.
“Business leaders are recognizing how future-proofing their operations with artificial intelligence, machine learning and automation can drive better business outcomes,” said Tom Abbott, CEO and co-founder of Tquila Automation. “By investing in technology careers in the City of Birmingham and the State of Alabama, we’re on the front-line driving innovation in businesses, supporting the demand for new jobs and growing talented team members.”
Tquila Automation said the new location will allow it to tap into Birmingham’s world-class universities and the large workforce base in the metro area. New team members will enroll in its Tquila Tech Academy for training in the design and delivery of automation solutions.
“We are incredibly excited to be developing our Delivery Center in Birmingham,” said Richard Denton, the company’s chief technology officer and co-founder. “The city is blossoming, and we have been incredibly impressed with the collaborative approach of all of the parties involved. The city, county and state have all provided assistance to bring us here, and we look forward to paying back to the community here through the creation of jobs in the exciting tech industry.”
Tquila Automation currently has over 100 employees in offices located in Austin, London and Amsterdam as well as a regional delivery center in Cardiff, Wales and a global center in Bucharest, Romania. The company also considered Austin, Nashville, and Atlanta for the project before choosing to locate its new operations in Birmingham.
“Birmingham is nurturing an increasingly dynamic high-tech business ecosystem, so it’s great news to see a company like Tquila Automation setting up an operation in the city,” said Greg Canfield, Secretary of the Alabama Department of Commerce. “This project will not only create high-paying jobs but also reinforce the growth potential of the tech sector in the Birmingham region.”
Why Alabama? A Q&A With Greg Canfield, Alabama Department of Commerce
Why Alabama? A Q&A With Greg Canfield, Alabama Department of CommerceThe Birmingham Business Alliance (BBA) helped recruit Tquila Automation and identified the Nextec building as a potential home for the company’s new operation. The BBA also connected Tquila Automation with other tech companies in the city and assisted with career fairs and talent acquisition, among other things. AIDT, the state’s primary workforce development agency, will help the company assemble and train its workforce. The Economic Development Partnership of Alabama (EDPA), the City of Birmingham, Jefferson County Commission and Alabama Power were also involved.
