Thursday, August 31, 2006 8:30 AM
Lauren Bindley
 |
| Lt. Governor Bruce Johnson |
Boeing officially welcomed a new work program to its Heath facility Tuesday afternoon.
Center Director Mike Emmelhainz.
“The program is AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control Systems)-ESM (Electronic Support Measures Systems) Radar Antenna Work that we are bringing from Corinth, Texas. It is the calibration, repair and assembly of AWACS antennas for the Air Force and for the NATO countries that use AWACS.”
Emmelhainz says this is great for Boeing, as well as the community.
“It’s a great opportunity to continue the long heritage of outstanding work that has been performed at this facility. It’s an opportunity to show the bigger Boeing how well we do work here, and to take on a new workload and continue to excel. For the community, it means more income, more revenue and more jobs as we go down the line, hopefully.”
Emmelhainz says the program relocated about 20 people to the area, but will also create additional jobs.
“In this program, there will be probably around 50 people employed. Currently, 20 of those folks moved with the program from Corinth. So, over the next several months, as we build up and get ramped up for production, we’ll probably hit about 50 people.”
Emmelhainz explains why the program was moved from Texas to Heath.
“The work was actually contracted through us, but they had a facility in Corinth, Texas. So, the decision was made that the smart thing to do was to transition that work to Heath and put it all under one roof. With the support of the Ohio Department of Development and the Port Authority, we worked a lot of good initiatives to bring it here."
Lt. Governor Bruce Johnson was on hand to help with the ribbon cutting ceremony, and he praises Boeing’s ability to bring more jobs to the state.
“This is a great program. It’s high jobs and high growth in an area of the state that we are very excited about. We need good jobs in Ohio, and this is a perfect example of a company that is growing that we need to continue to support. That’s why the state has a million dollars in assistance from infrastructure to technology to training.”
Johnson adds that Heath has a special place in his heart.
“My dad was at the Newark Air Force Station in the 60s and the 70s, so I have some history over here. I am real proud to be able to participate in job growth and new prosperity in Newark and Heath, Ohio.”
Emmelhainz adds that they hope to bring more work programs to Heath in the future.
