Software development and engineering company Elyxor Inc. announced Tuesday that it will add 45 positions at its North Little Rock office.
Founded in Boston in 2010, the company now employs 30 across the United States with four of those jobs in central Arkansas. Elyxor Chief Executive Officer Mark Carleo said the company is planning to expand in other locations, but it will make Arkansas its core development center.
Competition for employees in the Boston area is difficult, Carleo said. Central Arkansas offered an available talent pool that would cost less than hiring in more established tech centers.
"We compete with Microsoft and Google and 1,000 startups," Carleo said. "We wanted a place with good talent ... and a nice lifestyle."
Elyxor, located at 401 Main St. in North Little Rock's Argenta District, has committed to hiring 45 new employees within five years. The company began its Arkansas operations at the Venture Center in Little Rock.
Salaries at Elyxor, which works with manufacturers to collect data from appliances, medical equipment and other devices, will range from $40,000 for junior software engineers to $100,000-plus for employees with more experience. Elyxor serves clients across the U.S., in Europe and South America.
With two additional hires this year, the company will meet the Arkansas Economic Development Commission's threshold for its Advantage Arkansas incentive program. Advantage Arkansas offers a state income tax credit for 1 percent of total payroll.
The threshold for Advantage Arkansas is $125,000 annual payroll. Rob Lentz, Little Rock partner and chief strategy officer for Elyxor, said the average salary with the company will be around $60,000.
"Anytime we can compete for a project, I love to do it. This one is even sweeter because we want the project," commission executive director Mike Preston said. "It's nice to compete. It's nice to win.
"These are the jobs we're looking for," Preston added.
Arkansas beat out sites in Michigan, Tennessee and Ohio for the Elyxor expansion.
Gov. Asa Hutchinson said Elyxor is the sort of company that Arkansas must recruit to remain competitive nationally.
"While we have a diversified economy in Arkansas ... we will not be complete as a state and complete as an economy until we have a dynamic, sustained technology sector in this state," Hutchinson said. "What we see today is not just the beginning point here, but going down that path of creating that environment."
Elyxor hired its first Arkansas employee in 2014.
Business on 08/10/2016