SAS to add another building, more jobs at Cary campus

Chief Executive Officer and company co-founder Jim Goodnight made reference to a new building in a presentation to reporters from around the world who were gathered at the company’s newest building. He also said the SAS could end up boosting its work force of more than 12,000 by 8 percent this year.

“We had set a 6 percent target” for new hires in 2011, Goodnight said. But he noted that “hiring was like a train.”

“We tried to slow it down,” he added, “but there are so many projects people are working on.”

Jim Davis, the firm’s chief marketing officer, confirmed the new building in a brief interview following his own presentation about SAS’ growth of 15 percent in revenues so far in 2011.

“We are three years from walking in the woods to walking in the door,” Davis said of the building. “The site selection process is now underway. Jim has in mind what he wants the building to look like, but that will be determined in terms of height and size based on the site that is selected.”

Another building could be built as well, another SAS spokesperson said.

The campus currently includes 21 buildings.

Goodnight and Davis noted that SAS will increase its revenues and profits in 2011 as it has every year since its founding in 1976. Goodnight projects over $2.5 billion in revenue. SAS reported $2.4 billion in sales in 2010.

SAS also is hiring employees in Cary as well as globally. The company has so far this year added 447 employees in the U.S., most of which are at the headquarters campus.

The newest jobs are for the recently announced SAS Analytics Lab for State and Local Government. More than 50 of a planned 100 positions have been filled, but the company says that demand for services from the lab “has only increased” and led to a need for additional hires.