Norwegian drone company to open North American HQ in Baltimore County

A Norwegian company that manufactures drones announced Monday that it will open its North American headquarters in Baltimore County.

The company, called Nordic Unmanned, is currently looking for a location in the Cockeysville or Hunt Valley areas of Baltimore County to house its first North American office. Nordic Unmanned hopes to find readily available mixed-use real estate, which will include office, manufacturing and warehouse space, for the location.  

The firm has also appointed Timothy Tenne, a Baltimore County local, an experienced transit, aviation and defense executive, and a former United States Air Force pilot, to helm the company’s North American office. 

“I’m excited by this opportunity, and I look forward to making the new entity the leader in this market and applying my many years of executive aviation and aerospace experience to deliver cutting-edge solutions to existing and new customers in multiple verticals,” Tenne said in a news release on Monday. 

“Opening the office in Baltimore County was a carefully planned and strategic decision. Maryland is an attractive state for this business, with proximity to partners, potential customers, test and operations areas, a growing pool of technical and engineering talent, and proximity to the Federal Aviation Administration. These are major benefits, while at the same ensuring closeness to Norway with only a six-hour time difference. This is crucial for us to ensure synergies and to harvest the substantial operational experience from our colleagues in Norway.” 

Tenne will take on the role of CEO — North America on Aug. 29. Shortly after, the company hopes to host a commercial day to introduce itself to the region, Eilin Fransman, a spokesperson for the company, told The Daily Record. Nordic Unmanned has not yet announced when, exactly, it hopes to open its North American office. 

According to its website, Nordic Unmanned launched in 2013 and is a global leader in unmanned drone systems and services. The company manufactures proprietary products for its clients, designing them according to customers’ needs and specifications. 

The company wanted to expand into the North American market due to it being the largest drone market in the world and the market with the highest expected growth rate. The North American headquarters will focus on “offering Nordic Unmanned’s existing products and services portfolio, as well as operational experience with performing long-range, complex beyond visual line of sight operations, in pursuit of the North American defense, government, and commercial markets,” according to the press release.