Waterloo drone-maker Aeryon Labs expands to second office

A Waterloo drone maker has opened a second facility in the city, nearly doubling their office size, because company officials say it is experiencing substantial growth.

Aeryon Labs'snew 30,000 sq. ft. office space on Kumpf Dr. in Waterloo's north endis in addition to the 40,000 sq. ft. facility on the same street.

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"We're growing across the business. It's not just manufacturing or just R&D (research and development), every element of our business is growing," Aeryon Labspresident and CEO DaveKroetsch said Thursday in an interview.

"I think in 2015, I couldn't have predicted where we'd be one year later. The industry is changing so quickly."

More growth expected

Aeryon Labs, which was founded in Waterloo in 2007, builds small unmanned aerial systems, or drones. The company says they have customers globally in several industries, including military, public safety and commercial operators.

The expansion will allow Aeryon Labs to scale up all aspects of the company, including research and development, manufacturing andsales and marketing.

The Waterloo company, which received $60 million in funding from the investment firm Summit Partners last October, currently employs about 130 people and Kroetsch said he expects that will nearly double over the next year.

Last year Aeryon also teamed up with another Waterloo based company, Dejero, to make it possible to broadcast live HD video capturedfrom a drone.

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"You can sort of see the trajectory that drones are on," said Kroetsch. "People are very much becoming aware of how drones can be used not just as toys but as tools to get jobs done, and that's what we make and we're seeing the increase in demand."

Kroetsch said Waterloo has a "great talent base" for employees, which "makes it a great place to expand our business."