Motorola is consolidating operations in updated Texas facility as it focuses on AI video analytics

Motorola Solutions has consolidated its video security and analytics production into a newly renovated manufacturing facility in Richardson, Texas, with plans to expand staffing in the coming year.

The 136,000-square-foot facility opened in January and has been operational ever since, according to the company. It currently houses 250 employees, and the company said it plans to expand head count at the facility by at least 50 this year.

The manufacturing facility was renovated recently to produce the video camera equipment Motorola Solutions sells to schools, police, airports, manufacturers and other businesses.

The move follows Motorola's acquisitions of several firms specializing in security video and artificially intelligent video analytics over the past several years. The company is relatively new to the field.

"Our business is a growth business, and we continue to make sure we can fund that growth for future as we acquire more customers," Motorola Solutions VP of systems and infrastructure products John Kedzierski said.

Motorola acquired camera and analytics company Avigilon, which has an office in Dallas, for a reported $1 billion in February 2018 and Fort Worth-based license plate recognition camera and software maker Vigilant Solutions in January for $445 million.

In March 2019, it bought voice-over IP dispatch console maker Avtec. It also acquired Allen-based Watchguard in 2019, which designs and sells in-car video systems and police body cameras to law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and Canada.

It has also acquired two video security companies outside Texas—California-based Pelco and Scotland-based IndigoVision. It plans to bring manufacturing from both companies to the new plant.

"We're excited to bring the manufacturing for both companies to Richardson, Texas. This facility represents not only the consolidation of our local manufacturing but also an expansion of our manufacturing footprint in the United States," Kedzierski said.

The facility will be a centralized U.S. hub for production of the company's NDAA-compliant cameras as well as research and development, he said.

"We're committed to building high tech products in the U.S. and providing high-skilled manufacturing jobs here. We're a supporter of the government's actions around NDAA and believe strongly in cybersecurity," Kedzierski said.

Motorola Solutions employs nearly 1,000 people across Texas. Its highest concentration of employees in the Dallas area.