Aerojet Rocketdyne (Lockheed-Martin) announced Wednesday a plan to expand its East Camden facility, where the company manufactures solid rocket motors and warheads for national defense.
The plan includes investing in new infrastructure and creating more than 140 new jobs over the next three years. The growth is expected to bring the Ouachita and Calhoun County facility’s total employment to approximately 900. More than $50 million dollars will be invested in the expansion, a Wednesday AEDC (Arkansas Economic Development) statement said.
“We greatly value our longstanding partnership with Arkansas and their support for our continued growth in Camden,” said Aerojet Rocketdyne CEO and President Eileen Drake. “This expansion enables us to increase the volume of solid rocket motors we produce for tactical and missile defense systems used by America’s warfighters. It also provides Aerojet Rocketdyne with the capability to build large solid rocket motors in Camden for our nation’s strategic defense requirements.”
Large solid rocket motors will provide propulsion for the Air Force’s Ground Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD), a next generation system which will replace aging Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles.
Aerojet Rocketdyne recently relocated its Solid Rocket Motor Center of Excellence from Sacramento, California, to Camden, resulting in growth for the southwest Arkansas plant, which already produces more than 75,000 solid rocket motors annually. The company has had a presence in Arkansas since 1979.
“Arkansas is becoming known worldwide as a place where advanced technology can thrive,” said Gov. Asa Hutchinson. “The aerospace and defense industry has consistently remained one of our state’s top exports, and I am grateful for the confidence that Aerojet Rocketdyne has placed in our workforce over the years. The company was one of the first I met after becoming governor, and the relationship has always been significant to me.”
This expansion follows a 2015 announcement for plans to add 85 new full-time employees and invest $18 million in new buildings, upgrades and equipment. It was one of the first expansion announcements of Hutchinson’s administration after taking office earlier that year, and it was finalized during a meeting between the governor and several Aerojet Rocketdyne leaders at that year’s Paris Air Show.
“Aerojet Rocketdyne is a world leader in aerospace and defense products,” said AEDC Executive Director Mike Preston, “and continues to set the standard in the industry. Their corporate values mirror those of the state of Arkansas – to conduct business with integrity as we build a better community and quality of life.”
In 2016, the company partnered with Ouachita Electric Cooperative Corp. and Silicon Ranch Corp. to build a $25 million solar array – the state’s largest at the time – that provides almost one-third of the power used by Aerojet Rocketdyne.
Calhoun County Judge Floyd Nutt said, “We appreciate Aerojet Rocketdyne and the role it plays in keeping our local economy – as well as aerospace and missile defense around the world – strong.”