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Area Development - Site Selection, Facility Planning and Workforce Development

General Dynamics Electric Boat Plans $31.5 Million Expansion Project At Its Groton, Connecticut, Manufacturing Campus

10/31/2014
General Dynamics Electric Boat, a designer and builder of nuclear submarines, is expanding its facilities in Groton, Connecticut, to meet increased hiring and industry demands. As part of its expansion, Electric Boat expects to add up to 200 new employees to its Connecticut workforce of 8,700.

In support of the $31.5 million project, DECD will provide Electric Boat with a loan of $10 million at an interest rate of 2 percent for a ten-year term. Electric Boat may be eligible for full loan forgiveness if it successfully fulfills its employment obligation of 8,900 total jobs within two years.

As part of its expansion project, Electric Boat will purchase a parcel currently owned by Pfizer Corporation, including land and buildings located at 9 King’s Highway in Groton. A portion of the project will involve improvements to the former Pfizer property as well as upgrades to Electric Boat’s existing facilities and equipment located in Groton.

The company is making these investments to prepare for a ramp-up in production and contract work which will have a statewide impact on economic activity and the hiring of employees in the Defense Product and Parts Manufacturing sector.

“Today’s announcement supports the required facility expansion that will help Electric Boat affordably deliver submarines to the U.S. Navy,” said Electric Boat President Jeffrey S. Geiger. “The state’s investment will also enable Electric Boat to grow, and remain a successful business and significant contributor to the economic health of Southeastern Connecticut.”

Electric Boat’s expansion of its facilities is necessary to accommodate additional engineers, designers and other professionals that the company requires as it continues its contracted work related to the Virginia Class Program, as well as the Ohio Replacement Program, the newest class of submarines.

In operation for over 100 years, Electric Boat is the U.S. Navy’s prime contractor for the design and construction of the U.S. Navy’s Virginia Class nuclear submarines, subcontracting with nearly 600 vendors across Connecticut that supply over $600 million worth of goods and services for this defense acquisition program.

In April, the U.S. Navy awarded Electric Boat a contract valued at $17.6 billion for the construction and delivery of the next block, Block IV, of Virginia Class submarines.

“Our state’s defense product and parts manufacturing sector is becoming increasingly important to the Pentagon’s supply chain and, ultimately, our national defense strategy as illustrated by the growing number and value of contracts awarded to Connecticut-based industry leaders like Electric Boat over the past decade,” said Governor Dannel P. Malloy.

“The important work being done at Electric Boat is not only critical to our nation’s security but also to our economy, involving subcontracts with hundreds of suppliers around the state and employing thousands of residents in southeastern Connecticut. With the help of our partners at Electric Boat, this expansion, and the hundreds of new, good-paying jobs with good benefits that come with it, will strengthen our efforts to position Connecticut for a manufacturing revolution based on a new era of innovation, investment and economic growth,” the Governor added.

“This announcement today is a great example of a public private partnership,” said Tony Sheridan, President/CEO of the Chamber of Commerce of Eastern Connecticut. “It is what government can and indeed should do for its citizens. Bringing together key parties to create jobs and as a result creating a positive economic outlook for the entire region.”

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