Mitel Corp. wants to move to Phoenix

PHOENIX - A Canadian firm that bought a Tempe company earlier this year is looking to expand its activities in Arizona.

Terence Matthews, chairman of the board of Mitel Corp., wants to link up with both state universities as well as high-tech firms in the Phoenix and Tucson areas to help develop new technology for the telecommunications equipment firm, according to Simon Gwatkin, the company’s vice president of strategic marketing.

The commitment came during a meeting in Ottawa between Gov. Janet Napolitano and top executives of Mitel. The governor is leading a trade delegation there.

Mitel purchased Inter-Tel in August. As part of that deal, Mitel is moving its U.S. headquarters to Tempe from Atlanta.

Napolitano, in a telephone interview, said the new commitment by Matthews to do more research in Arizona proves the importance of trade missions.

“That ability to sit across the table and look each other in the eye and say, ‘This is a great place to do business and we want you and we want your jobs,’ does pay off,” she said.

Napolitano also met Wednesday with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, primarily to discuss trade issues. And she said that, too, could pay off for Arizona.

The governor said Harper has set aside more than $160 million for research. She said there were discussions with him as well as officials from Canadian universities to work with Arizona universities on several projects, particularly those aimed at improving border security.

Napolitano noted her trip comes as the Canadian dollar has achieved new strength against a weaker U.S. dollar. And that, she said, presents various business opportunities.

“The easiest place we’re going to see it is on the tourism side because their dollar is going to go so much further,” Napolitano said. “But we’ll also see it on the trade side.”

That may help reverse what essentially is a trade deficit Arizona has with Canada: Napolitano said the state exports products worth about $1.1 billion a year to Canada but imports $1.4 billion worth of goods.

Gwatkin said the commitment by Mitel to set up affiliates in Arizona follows a model that Matthews has used elsewhere.

“We look to set up affiliated companies that add value to Mitel’s product portfolio,” he said. “We would look to local universities and likely the high-tech industry around Phoenix.”