HID’s new $50 million global headquarters is the company’s largest and will consolidate a variety of operations and locations in the company’s new home in Austin, Texas.

Before an audience that included representatives from Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s office and U.S. Rep. Bill Flores (R-Texas), and other state and local officials, Denis Hebert, president and CEO of HID Global, and U.S. Rep. Michael T. McCaul (R-Texas), chair of the House Homeland Security Committee, cut the ribbon that officially opened the company’s new world headquarters and North American operations center in Austin, Texas.

The $50 million, 250,000-sq.-ft. facility is HID’s largest and will consolidate the company’s corporate functions, manufacturing, assembly and test operations, distribution and sales operations. The company has commenced the first phase of operations at the state-of-the-art facility ahead of schedule and expects it to be fully operational in the third quarter of 2015.

First announced in May 2012, the facility was built on 22 acres and is expected to create 300 new jobs by 2015, including the consolidation of four other HID facilities, previously located in Mountain View, Calif.; Irvine, Calif.; Eden Prairie, Minn.; and North Haven, Conn.

In the ribbon-cutting ceremony’s welcoming remarks, Hebertdescribed some of the reasons why the State of Texas had been selected for the facility and touched on the many border security and homeland security issues HID deals with as the producer of U.S. Green Cards and leading provider of secure identity products.

“This state-of-the-art facility epitomizes the ability of the private sector to produce secure identity credentials and produce security products that help insure the security of our nation, in addition to providing hundreds of new, well-paying jobs that will stimulate the local and national economy,” he said. “HID is committed to partnering with U.S. agencies to ensure that the identity credentials that permit entry into the U.S. at our land and sea borders are the most secure and counterfeit-resistant in the world.”

In his own welcoming remarks, Rep. McCaul highlighted the need for strong identification and credentialing in general and HID’s role in homeland security specifically.

Denis Hebert (left), president and CEO of HID Global, and U.S. Rep. Michael T. McCaul (R-Texas), chair of the House Homeland Security Committee, officially opened HID’s new global headquarters and North American operations center in a ribbon-cutting ceremony on January 13.

“Identification is becoming — as we evolve into the modern threats — more and more of an issue, whether is biometrics or encryption,” he said. “From a homeland security perspective, whether it’s protecting the American border, Southwest border or through a Visa coming into U.S. from other countries, we need to know who they are, and we need to know when they exit the country.

“HID Global is at the forefront of homeland security issues, they will be extremely helpful in our efforts at the national level to better secure the United States. I am honored to cut ribbon at HID Global‘s headquarters in Austin this morning. Their work is vital to national security,” he added.