Raytheon has a new vision
$20M project under way; firm to consolidate offices
Friday, April 14, 2006
Raytheon employees and top brass gathered with local and state officials at Cummings Research Park on Thursday to celebrate the beginning of construction of a $20 million, 140,000-square-foot office building.
Set on 20 acres at Old Madison Pike and Jan Davis Drive, the new structure will accommodate up to 500 employees and provide an opportunity for the defense contractor to consolidate most of its Huntsville operations, now scattered among four locations.
"Ultimately, that's good for all of us, good for the taxpayers, good for the community," said Tony Palumbo, center executive for Raytheon's Integrated Defense Systems division, which manages the Huntsville operations.
The new building will house Raytheon's engineering, management, business development and customer support functions.
The aerospace company plans to maintain its long-term lease on the 44,000-square-foot production facility on James Record Road, near Huntsville International Airport. Raytheon has about 600 employees in Huntsville.
The company performs engineering and management work on Army programs such as the Patriot and Javelin missiles, along with sensor work on military space projects. It also provides engineering support work to NASA at Marshall Space Flight Center.
"We'll make sure Huntsville is in the center of Joint Battleship Integration," said Dan Smith, president of Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems. "This is about our war fighter. This is about our people."
Gov. Bob Riley said Raytheon is an example of the "new economy" in research and development Alabama is working to build.
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