XN Technologies Inc., of Cheney has opened a subsidiary based in York, England, in hopes of increasing its presence throughout Europe.


The subsidiary, called XN Technologies Ltd., provides sales and customer-support services to the companys current European distributors and dealers of products from XNs AutoPatch division, which makes audio, video, and digital signal switching and routing equipment. Eventually, XN President Alan Hale says, the European operation also will handle final assembly of AutoPatch products destined for that market.


The new subsidiary should improve response time on customer requests, boosting the level of support, Hale says. Currently, he says, about 10 percent of the companys overall annual sales are in the European market, but theres a lot more potential.


Hale declines to disclose the number of employees who are working or will work at the office in England, but says XN has hired a British executive to head up the subsidiary. That executive, Tony Leedham, formerly was managing director of Access Technologies, which distributes XNs products in the United Kingdom.


The subsidiary is XNs second overseas operation. The company has a sales and customer-support office in Osaka, Japan, that opened just over two years ago, but Hale says XN is considering moving that operation to Singapore.


XN doesnt have immediate plans to form additional overseas subsidiaries, but its long-range plan is to open more such offices, possibly in South America or Australia, he says.


Hale declines to disclose the companys annual sales or employment figures. The company previously has said that it has more than 100 workers.