Gov. Bob Riley has successfully recruited the aerospace company, Raytheon, to build a new missile production facility in Huntsville that will create 300 new jobs.
This agreement was reached on Monday, July 19, from Farnborough, U.K., where Riley, U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama and the president of Raytheon were attending the International Air Show held outside of London.
"This new Raytheon factory means more jobs for Alabama and is a clear demonstration of Raytheon's strong partnership with the state," Riley said in a news release. "Raytheon and aerospace continue to be important pieces of Alabama's economic picture."
The new 70,000 square-foot production facility will be constructed on the Redstone Arsenal and will be built in two different phases, with groundbreaking expected for later this year. After the new facility is completed, it will provide final assembly and testing for the Standard Missile-3 and Standard Missile-6.
Production for the SM-3 is expected to increase substantially over the next 10 years, and according to Dr. Taylor W. Lawrence, Raytheon Missile Systems president, the SM-3 will be the centerpiece of the nation's new missile defense strategy.
Lawrence also said the SM-6 will give the U.S. Navy a much-needed weapon system to help with extended range anti-air warfare.
Alex Pace, a U.S. soldier from Huntsville who works and trains frequently on Redstone Arsenal, is happy to see the arsenal attract business for Huntsville.
"It's great to see (Redstone) bring jobs back to the state," Pace said. "I'm glad that big businesses are looking into Alabama and seeing the potential we have to offer."
This is not Raytheon's first deal with Alabama. In February 2007, the company constructed a new facility in Huntsville that created 500 jobs for Alabamians and now employs about 600 in the Huntsville area alone.
"This is a big win for Alabama, not only because of the high-paying jobs this project brings, but also because aerospace is such an important growth industry for the future," Riley said in the news release.
According to the project agreement with the state, the average annual base salary for workers of the new facility will be $60,000.
"These are important jobs for not only Alabama, but also the United States," Pace said. "Missile production is a very crucial piece of the United States' defense strategy and needs to continue to improve and grow to help soldiers and national security."
Raytheon, which has headquarters in Waltham, Mass., and employs 75,000 people worldwide, is a technology and innovations leader in homeland security, defense and other government markets throughout the world.
Spanning over the last 88 years, the company has provided mission systems integration, state-of-the-art electronics and intelligence systems for the United States and has remained successful, with sales of $25 billion in 2009.
"I think it is extremely important for Alabama to continue its involvement with the aerospace industry," said Dr. Butch Foster, a professor in aerospace engineering at Auburn University. "This should be a fine addition to the various industries that already exist in Huntsville."
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