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Riviera Beach Plant to Add Jobs

Posted on: Tuesday, 11 October 2005, 00:00 CDT

By Marcia Heroux Pounds, South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Oct. 8--About 100 new jobs from engineers to aerospace technologists will be created in Riviera Beach now that Lockheed Martin has been awarded a $30.2 million contract from the U.S. Navy.

Lockheed, which operates its marine systems and sensors business in Riviera Beach, had been anticipating the $30.2 million fixed-price contract for production of three remote mine-hunting vehicles for the U.S. Navy.

Lockheed Martin already has 263 employees in Riviera Beach. The business was once known as Perry Technologies, named after John Perry who founded the company and sold it in 1962 to Martin Marietta. In 1995, Martin Marietta merged with Lockheed.

Before receiving the contract, Lockheed Martin notified Palm Beach County that it expected to add jobs. Lockheed has applied for a Job Growth Incentive Grant worth $363,000 from Palm Beach County, as well as a tax refund under Florida's Qualified Defense Contractor Program.

To qualify for the grant and tax refund, Lockheed Martin must retain its 263 full-time jobs at Riviera Beach plant with an average salary of $65,000 and create the new jobs.

Verdenia Baker, Palm Beach County's deputy administrator, said the county was concerned Lockheed Martin might move the jobs outside the state.

But Jim Weitzel, general manager of Lockheed plant, said the plant's waterfront location in Riviera Beach makes sense for underwater vehicle development and testing.

The contract reflects less than one-quarter of Lockheed Martin's marine systems business, Weitzel said. "We don't ever envision these jobs moving out of the area," he said.

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LMT,

Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel

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