Slidell, La. – Nov. 9, 2009 – Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) celebrated the grand opening and ribbon cutting of its new high-tech geospatial facility today in Slidell, La., as part of the Eastern Louisiana Consolidation Project, continuing the company’s strong presence in the state.
The ceremony was held at 4 p.m. CST at 2050 Gause Blvd. E., in Slidell.
Highlighting the occasion were remarks from John Olesak, vice president of integrated intelligence for Northrop Grumman’s Information Systems sector, and Ben Morris, mayor of the city of Slidell, La.
"The grand opening of Northrop Grumman’s Slidell Campus not only represents a significant addition to the local business community, but also our commitment to bring cutting-edge innovation to the area," said Olesak. "The capabilities available through this new facility, including Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR), are at the forefront of the geospatial industry and are shaping the technology available now, and in the future."
The new Slidell campus combined two existing Northrop Grumman offices, a temporary Slidell office and an office at Stennis Space Center in Miss. The new 20,000 square-foot facility will bring 75 high-tech jobs, including 50 new positions to St. Tammany Parish, enabling Northrop Grumman to continue its role as a strong local employer.
"Expanding and retaining Louisiana’s existing companies is our top economic priority, and today’s milestone is another reminder that our efforts are working," said Bobby Jindal, governor of Louisiana. "It’s also a reminder that, despite the national recession, companies have continued expanding and investing in Louisiana."
The Slidell campus is a Northrop Grumman LiDAR Center of Excellence, broadening the company’s scope of capabilities throughout Louisiana. The site supports terrestrial elevation, watershed, flood, bare earth and surface modeling, volumetric and permeability solutions, and feature extraction data.
Northrop Grumman acquired 3001 International in October 2008. With this acquisition, Northrop Grumman now provides full end-to-end geospatial capabilities including airborne imaging, surveying, mapping and geographic information systems for domestic and international government intelligence, defense and civilian customers.
About Northrop Grumman
Northrop Grumman Corporation is a leading global security company whose 120,000 employees provide innovative systems, products, and solutions in aerospace, electronics, information systems, shipbuilding and technical services to government and commercial customers worldwide.