French animation and visual effects company STIM, whose credits include “The Wild Robot,” “The Garfield Movie” and “Coyote vs. Acme,” is opening a production center in Spain’s Canary Islands, with plans to create more than 100 jobs as it expands its European operations.

STIM Tenerife will begin operations in August and expects to employ 60 people by the end of 2026. Hiring of character modelers, set and prop modelers, look development artists and supervisors, among other high-skilled positions, is already underway.

The company has chosen to establish the operation within the Canary Islands Special Zone, or ZEC, a low tax regime for qualified companies operating in the Spanish archipelago.

“The opening of STIM Tenerife in the Canary Islands marks a strategic stage in the evolution of STIM,” said STIM Tenerife CEO Amélie Houpline. “We have found here an environment that brings together talent, strong development potential and a dynamic creative community.”

The new base, he added, will allow STIM to increase its production capacity “without compromising the artistic and technical excellence that defines our identity.”

Founded by Félix Ferrand, Jordan Soler and Benoit Gielly, STIM specializes in 3D animation, VFX and digital production for film, television and advertising. With operations in France and Belgium, it has grown from a character-focused studio to a company capable of managing projects from design and pre-production to final delivery.

STIM collaborated with DreamWorks Animation on the facial and body montage of several characters in “The Wild Robot.” His other credits include the Sony release “The Garfield Movie,” Warner Bros. “Coyote vs. Acme,” FX’s Emmy-winning “Shōgun” and the Annecy-curated Franco-Belgian animated film “Girl in the Clouds.”

The operation in Tenerife will expand the company’s production capacity while supporting financing structures spanning France, Belgium and the Canary Islands. STIM said that footprint could give producers additional options to raise European animation and visual effects funding.

“Our ambition is not limited to producing international projects from the islands,” said Houpline. “We want to build a studio with a long-term future, generate highly qualified employment and contribute to the development of the Canarian ecosystem.”

STIM’s arrival comes as the archipelago continues to build its animation, VFX and digital arts sector. According to data from the ZEC, the Canary Islands today has more than 30 specialized companies and nearly 2,000 professionals, compared to a relatively small industry less than a decade ago.

Companies operating on the islands include Fortiche, the studio behind “Arcane,” as well as Atlantis Animation, 3 Doubles Producciones, Tomavision, Gigglebug, Amuse Studios and Ánima Kitchent.

Recent expansion has also included the Tenerife operation of Surfing Giant Studios and DNEG’s investment in Ánima Kitchent, backed by the Spanish government’s SETT, as part of a broader effort to scale the sector.

“A few years ago there was practically no animation industry in the Canary Islands,” says the president of the ZEC, Pablo Hernández. “Today we have dozens of studios, nearly 2,000 professionals and projects for some of the largest entertainment companies in the world.”

The arrival of STIM, he added, shows that the archipelago “has ceased to be a promise and has become a consolidated reality within the international animation industry.”

Hernández said that the importance of the latest investments goes beyond attracting companies or individual productions.

“We are witnessing the creation of an authentic industrial ecosystem, with local talent, specialized training and companies capable of leading global productions,” he stated. “We have gone from attracting specific projects to attracting permanent centers of decision-making, production and creative development.”

The next phase, according to Hernández, will involve strengthening local intellectual property, developing original content and attracting international investments on a larger scale.

Sector projections suggest that the Canary Islands could reach between 3,000 and 4,000 jobs specialized in animation and digital arts in the coming years.