News that three California-based companies have announced expansion projects for Austin means that city's vibrant tech sector is growing again, reports Austin's KVUE-TV this week.

InteSolv, a multi-million dollar technology solutions company, is opening a new regional office in North Austin. Its national headquarters will remain in Visalia, CA. Over the next 12 months it's expected to hire developers, technical support specialists and enterprise sales associates...

By this fall, Altera Corporation of San Jose, CA, is scheduled to open a new R&D center making chips for various equipment in Southwest Austin. And bio-pharmaceutical company Xeris announced plans to relocate from Larkspur, California, to Austin.

Altera is expected to hire several hundred positions associated with its new activity, while both Xeris and InteSolv are each expected to hire several dozen people. It's said more positions are expected to be created in the future.

The Austin Chamber of Commerce helped all three tech companies with their moves through the city's "Opportunity Austin" program. Dave Porter of the Chamber shared that company leaders identified Austin's "sixth most educated workforce" in the U.S. and its "quality of life" as two key factors drawing in the three new corporate residents.

Bradley Howe of Altera Corporation said the area's talent pool and overall environment "is a good fit for us as we continue to grow." Frank Rogers, SVP of Business Development at InteSolv, noted that for his firm's ability to sustain its growth, "it was imperative to find a second place for InteSolv to call home, and Austin fits us to a 'T.'"

The three companies join an ever-expanding roster of new business in Austin, reports KVUE-TV. Eight firms have relocated to the city since January 2011, and 200 have made the move since 2004.