Microsoft announces expansion in ND

FARGO, N.D. (AP) - Microsoft Corp. is making room for nearly 600 more workers with a $70 million expansion project at its Fargo campus.

Construction is expected to begin in August on a 120,000-square foot building and a 65,000-square foot addition to one of two existing buildings, said Jeff Raikes, president of the Microsoft Business Division.

'Some of you might wonder, why would Microsoft be looking to expand here,' Raikes said at a news conference Tuesday. 'The answer is very simple. This location, Fargo, has been great for our company.'

Microsoft acquired Great Plains Software in 2001 and began producing business and financial software for small- and medium-sized companies. Microsoft Business Solutions is growing at about 20 percent a year, Raikes said.

The Fargo campus has expanded in recent years to handle other operations for the company, including customer support, payroll and information technology. Microsoft has 956 full-time workers in the Fargo area.

About 175 new jobs will be filled by the end of this fiscal year and 200 jobs should be added next year, said Don Morton, the site leader of the Fargo campus.

'At the end of the day, you hear lots about companies expanding in China and India and other parts around the world, including our own company,' Raikes said. 'But we are also expanding right here in Fargo.'

There are 40,000 college students within a 100-mile radius of Fargo, which 'is a great talent pool for us to tap into,' Raikes said.

Gov. John Hoeven, who presented Raikes with vanity license plates from North Dakota that read 'LUV ND,' called the announcement 'a vote of confidence by Microsoft in North Dakota and in the Fargo area.'

The new building, expected to be finished in 2009, is part of the first phase of the project. It will include a new cafe, meeting rooms and a company store. It will link to the other two buildings on campus, including its executive briefing center.

Microsoft plans to spend $2 billion on expansion projects throughout the world in the next year, Raikes said.

Raikes said Microsoft showed strong returns in its last quarterly report, with 16 percent revenue growth and 15 percent operating income growth. The business division boosted both its revenue and income by 11 percent, he said.

'For a division of that size, we're quite proud of how the products are being received and the global impact that we're able to have,' Raikes said. 'There are now about 500 million people in the world who are using Microsoft Office tools.'

Microsoft Senior Vice President and former Great Plains president Doug Burgum is leaving the company in June. Tami Reller, a Grand Forks native, has been named acting leader of the Fargo campus.

'Microsoft is a company that's very committed to the team member experience,' Burgum said.

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