Honeywell Aerospace to open new $35M high-tech lab
Gov. García-Padilla, at podium, flanked by government and Honeywell officials during this morning’s announcement.
Honeywell Aerospace announced an agreement with the government to establish a new $35 million electromagnetic compatibility and environmental test laboratory in the mountain town of Moca. This new lab will support the main capabilities of its global aerospace and defense operation in the areas of app and software development and aeronautics engineering design, company officials said.
“Honeywell’s expansion will create high-quality jobs for the western region of Puerto Rico, as well as new infrastructure that will secure Puerto Rico at the forefront of the aerospace and engineering segments,” said Gov. Alejandro García-Padilla during a morning news conference.
“But the implications of this announcement are more profound. The expansion of Honeywell Aerospace represents an important achievement for our economic development strategy that seeks to diversify Puerto Rico’s industrial base,” he said.
The laboratory will be built in a 73,000 square-foot facility at the town’s Las Américas Technology Park, located in a region where other important investments in the aerospace sector are taking place.
The investment in construction, equipment and training is estimated at $35 million. Construction will start in the third quarter of 2014 and operations are expected to begin by third quarter of 2015. The development of the lab has the potential to create several new jobs, the governor said.
“This is an exciting time for Honeywell Aerospace and our employees,” said Honeywell Aerospace President Tim Mahoney. “Honeywell’s investment in the new lab will help us continue to design products that meet the increasingly complex needs of today’s aircraft. It is clear that Puerto Rico is becoming an important part of the aerospace industry.”
For the expansion, the Puerto Rico Industrial Development Company (PRIDCO) will provide incentives for job creation, infrastructure and lease.
“We are thrilled with the results that the aerospace cluster strategy is driving to Puerto Rico in terms of economic development and growth,” said Antonio Medina-Comas, Executive Director of PRIDCO. “This announcement comes just two weeks after Lufthansa Technik and the Commonwealth formalized an agreement to establish a major MRO operation in Aguadilla. Also, early this year Infosys, which is another key player in the aerospace sector, announced its arrival to the island with an outsourcing operation in the same region. All these projects reflect that the industrial development strategy to provide a more diversified economy is producing the expected results.”
This will be Honeywell’s second aerospace site in Puerto Rico, complementing its already successful operation in Aguadilla. Honeywell Aerospace established operations in Puerto Rico in 2007.
The parent company, Honeywell International, is a Fortune 100 company that invests and manufactures technologies to address challenges relates to energy efficiency, clean energy generation, safety and security, globalization and customer productivity. Honeywell employs more than 132,000 people, including more than 22,000 engineers and scientists worldwide.
