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PRIDCO, Honeywell break ground on high-tech lab

Gov. García-Padilla greets the future lab's staff, which gathered Tuesday in Moca for the groundbreaking.

Gov. García-Padilla greets the future lab’s staff, which gathered Tuesday in Moca for the groundbreaking.

Honeywell Aerospace executives joined Puerto Rico government officials to break ground Tuesday on the construction of a new research and development laboratory that the company will operate in the northern municipality of Moca.

In recent months, Honeywell Aerospace has been working closely with the Puerto Rico Industrial Development Company (known as PRIDCO) to design and develop an electromagnetic interference laboratory that will allow Honeywell Aerospace to test the electromagnetic compatibility in Honeywell Aerospace products.

“The project that we build today and that should be completed by October 2015, will give Puerto Rico its first laboratory of aerospace technology. Honeywell Aerospace will use this center for research and development to test the effects of electromagnetic interference on its products,” said Gov. Alejandro García-Padilla during the groundbreaking event.

“In other words, this is a key project that advances the position of Puerto Rico within the aerospace industry,” he said.

Puerto Rico has been chosen for this project given its competitive workforce, its compliance with all federal regulations related to defense activities and the economic incentives provided for manufacturing and export services activities, including those related to research and development.

The project represents an important milestone for the growing Puerto Rico aerospace industry and the local economy overall, creating job opportunities for dozens of people and stimulating economic activity for several local contractors and suppliers, officials said.

“This new state-of-the-art facility in Puerto Rico will enable Honeywell to expand our core competency in designing, developing and testing a wide range of advanced aerospace avionics and electric power technologies,” said Bob Smith, vice president of engineering at Honeywell Aerospace.

“This move is a clear demonstration of Honeywell’s valued partnership with PRIDCO and the broader Puerto Rican community, and underscores our commitment to providing our customers with industry-leading aerospace solutions,” he added.

The construction timeline and related permits process of the 73,000 square-feet facility has already been completed. Honeywell Aerospace has also been successful in finding the right talent for these operations and continues to collaborate with local universities in the efforts to develop new talent, officials further noted.

“At PRIDCO we are proud and excited to see how important projects, that were once conceived as major economic drivers in our industrial development roadmap, begin to bear fruit. Honeywell has been one of our key partners in the efforts of growing the aerospace segment in Puerto Rico and this groundbreaking marks an important milestone in our economic diversification strategy,” said Antonio Medina-Comas, executive director of PRIDCO.

This will be Honeywell’s second Aerospace site in Puerto Rico, complementing its already successful operation in Aguadilla. 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.

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This story was written by our staff based on a press release.
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