PreSonus Blog

New PreSonus Headquarters and Research Facility To Arise on Highland Road

Baton Rouge, Louisiana, August 2012… On August 22, 2012, PreSonus Audio Electronics, Inc., hosted a groundbreaking ceremony for its new high-tech headquarters and research facility. Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal led the list of guests of honor, attending in recognition of PreSonus’ contributions to the state and local economy.

A leading manufacturer of digital and analog hardware and integrated software systems for the professional audio market, PreSonus has expanded from 49 employees in 2009 to more than 130 employees worldwide, including the 80 full-time employees who are overflowing its current offices on Florida Boulevard.  According to PreSonus CEO Jim Mack, PreSonus has grown its revenues by more than 50% last year and is slated to enter new product categories to continue its growth.

Designed by local architects Ritter Maher, LLC, and developed by Moniotte Investments, the new 44,000-square-foot building—located at 19151 Highland Road—will cost approximately $8.3 million including land and development.  Completion is expected in the late summer of 2013. It will easily accommodate at least 125 employees—crucial because PreSonus is continuing to grow and hire—and offers many amenities that are not available in the company’s current space.

Among the unique features of this building will be a specialized high-tech recording studio/R&D space that is being custom-designed for PreSonus’ engineering and testing teams by the award-winning Walters-Storyk Design Group of Highland, New York. The 2,500-square-foot, state-of-the-art studio will feature a control room, a 500-square-foot live-sound room, two isolation rooms, a video-production suite, five test labs as well as a separate 1,500-square-foot live-sound room.

PreSonus’ rapid growth, local hiring, and emphasis on digital engineering qualified it for LED Digital Interactive Media and Software Development tax-credits. This program supports the creation of quality digital-engineering jobs that stay in the Baton Rouge community. Historically, companies like PreSonus have usually located on the East or West Coast. However, the tax-credit program has helped make it possible for PreSonus to grow and prosper in its home city, investing these funds in new engineering staff and in research and development. Many of the new hires are highly skilled digital-hardware and software engineers residing in the Baton Rouge area.

Much of the engineering team graduated from the LSU Engineering Department, and the company was recently named to the LSU 100 Fastest Growing Tiger Businesses. PreSonus also is working with LSU in an effort to develop local design talent through the university’s outstanding engineering programs and internships.

August 22 marks the beginning of the next stage of PreSonus’ growth and its continuing contributions to high-tech employment in Baton Rouge. Look for much more to come from this vibrant company.