MANAGEMENT ON THE MOVE
LOCATIONS
13 Aug 07. Lockheed Martin UK INSYS has officially opened a new £2m high-tech manufacturing centre at its Ampthill site. Part of the regeneration of the Ampthill facility, the new development will be a ‘clean’ dust-free environment where specialist technicians can build and repair advanced systems. As many as 60 specialists are expected to work there once it is operating to full capacity.
The development is designed to be used by a variety of high-tech programmes including the repair of sensitive optics and avionics equipment, although its first application will be as a centre for the manufacture of Ground Support Equipment for the Apache Attack Helicopter.
16 Aug 07. Raytheon Systems Limited (RSL) opened its new Systems Integration Centre at Uxbridge in the west of London, a new facility that will also serve as the new, expanded site of the company’s London office, previously located in Park Lane. Sir Robert Hayman-Joyce, Chairman of RSL, said, “As we expand into new areas of business such as national security and defence training, we need a London base from which to work and our Systems Integration Centre at Uxbridge will provide both the space and the attractive work environment we need. It makes good sense to move our London office there at the same time. It gives us scope to expand our team. This investment underlines Raytheon’s commitment to the UK: from this new base we will be able to develop our strong links with the MOD and grow our relationships with our new customer community within the Home Office and security services.”
13 Aug 07. Stewart-Matl Ltd.*, Austin, Texas, was awarded on July 27, 2007, a $5,740,000 firm-fixed-price contract for construction of a Predator Operations Complex. Work will be performed in Houston, Texas, and is expected to be completed by March 31, 2008.Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. There were an unknown number of bids solicited via the World Wide Web on May 4, 2007, and three bids were received. The National Guard Bureau, Austin, Texas, is the contracting activity (W912L1-07-C-5010).
10 Aug 07. Canada to strengthen Arctic claim. Canada has said it will build two military facilities in the far north in a bid to assert its sovereignty over the contested Arctic region. Prime Minister Stephen Harper made the announcement during a tour of Canada’s northern territories. It comes as a Danish mission prepares to sail to the North Pole to map the seabed under the ice. Last week, a Russian expedition planted the country’s flag on the floor of the Arctic Ocean under the North Pole. (Source: BBC)
13 Aug 07. IBM plans to move 3,400 employees to its new software campus in Littleton, Mass., the technology giant plans to announce Tuesday. As the Boston Business Journal first reported last month, IBM has agreed to lease a vacant 494,000-square-foot building at 550 King St. in Littleton, beating out Raytheon Co. for the space.
03 Aug 07. USAF enhances Lakenheath F-15Es with Suite 5E upgrade. The US Air Force in Europe’s (USAFE’s) 48th Fighter Wing (FW) at RAF Lakenheath in the UK is pioneering the latest upgrades for two Boeing F-15E Strike Eagle units – the 492nd and 494th Fighter Squadrons (FS). The USAF fleet of 224 F-15Es are more capable now than ever before, having been selected as lead platform for integration of the revolutionary Small Diameter Bomb (SDB). (Source: Jane’s)
11 Aug 07. Small and medium-sized manufacturers have reported the highest rate of growth in domestic orders since 1997, and continue to enjoy firm demand overall, according to the CBI’s latest quarterly SME survey. These smaller (SME) manufacturers fared better over the last three months than the sector as a whole. Whereas manufacturers overall saw growth in orders fall back from April’s peak, the balance of SME firms seeing total orders rise rather than fall remained steady at a net +12%. At a +7% balance, the expansion in domest