Drawn by the area's low cost of living and quality of life, a California-headquartered software company recently opened an office in Wilmington.

TCS Healthcare Technologies, which provides software for managed care organizations, such as health insurance providers, recently opened an office at 401 Chestnut St.

While the company will maintain its Auburn, California, headquarters, TCS Healthcare’s new office in Wilmington will allow it to grow and better serve its existing east coast clients, according to a release.

TCS CEO Deborah Keller said the company’s short-term plans are to hire 10 to 12 employees and continue to grow from there.

The biggest draw to Wilmington was available talent, quality of life, cost of living and atmosphere, Keller said.

“Our company is based in Northern California; our headquarters are in the Sacramento area … What we often see is that due to the cost of living in the Bay area, a lot of people loved to be there and be by the ocean and that kind of lifestyle, but the cost of living is just terribly expensive,” Keller said. “We started looking up and down the coast, and Wilmington came in very strong. We were also looking for decent air travel, as well as driveable proximity to other major cities.”

The company, which has begun hiring, seeks to hire locals for the office, which will primarily house employees in sales and project management areas.

“We've done well with finding local talent, which really our intention as much as possible is to hire local folks. Sometimes, it's a little hard on the deeper technology skillsets with developers and things like that, but with the target set that we're looking for, we're hoping we can hire local,” she said.

The company was able to lease the Chestnut location and open the office amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. The office is operating with 10 people or fewer and is providing PPE and temperature checks.

"While the logistics had to change a bit, during our opening we have been met with friendliness and tremendous support from local vendors. The team on the ground kept things moving and our new office is ready to go," Matt Fahner, vice president of engineering for TCS, said in the release.

TCS software products are used by organizations such as health insurance companies and medical service providers to help patients navigate the health system, understand medications, appointment information and more.

TCS is launching a new product and sales initiative that the Wilmington team will primarily undertake.

For that reason, Keller plans on spending most of her time in Wilmington for the first year.

The company will be creating more than 10 jobs in Wilmington; however, Keller emphasizes that it's more than just numbers.

“Our goal is not just to create X number of jobs but to really create high-quality jobs with full benefits, good work-life balance and just really a place that employees want to work,” she said.