General Dynamics to Establish High-Tech Engineering Center in Prince William County

RICHMOND - Governor Mark R. Warner today announced that General Dynamics Land Systems has selected Prince William County as the location for its new high-technology engineering staff. This group will be headquartered at General Dynamics’ Woodbridge Technical Center starting in the fall of 2004, and will provide 150 new full time jobs with an average annual wage of $64,000. The company will invest approximately $2 million to upgrade the technical center. Virginia successfully competed with California, Florida, Michigan, North Carolina and South Carolina for the project.

“General Dynamics is a longstanding Virginia corporate citizen,” said Governor Warner. “This new venture will bring good technology jobs to Prince William County as the Commonwealth continues to recruit companies in the homeland security arena.”

General Dynamics is establishing this organization to work on the U.S. Army’s Future Combat Systems (FCS) program, and consolidating its combat vehicle medium caliber turret engineering staff in Virginia. FCS is the Army’s flagship transformation program intended to use advanced communications and technologies to link soldiers with manned and unmanned ground and air platforms and sensors. General Dynamics is leading the manned ground vehicle common design development with United Defense, Boeing/SAIC, and U.S. government participation. To date, General Dynamics has been awarded approximately $2.5 billion dollars in contracts for FCS-related work.
“Prince William County, Virginia has proven to be an excellent business location for General Dynamics, and provides direct access to the uniquely trained and qualified defense industry workforce that we will be relying on to support our FCS services,” said Michael D. Bolon, General Dynamics Land Systems senior vice president engineering, design and development.

General Dynamics, headquartered in Falls Church, Virginia, employs approximately 68,400 people worldwide and anticipates 2004 revenue of $19 billion. The company is a market leader in mission-critical information systems and technologies; land and expeditionary combat systems, armaments and munitions; shipbuilding and marine systems; and business aviation. In Virginia, the company has 14 locations primarily in northern Virginia, Hampton Roads, and Smyth County representing a variety of business segments that include both manufacturing and office operations. These locations employ 6,100 Virginians. More information about the company can be found at www.generaldynamics.com. 

The Virginia Economic Development Partnership first received a call from General Dynamics on this project in April 2004. The Prince William County Department of Economic Development was instrumental in closing the deal. The county’s board of supervisors intends to adopt a resolution to authorize a $120,000 grant to assist with the project. The Virginia Department of Business Assistance will support the project with its Workforce Services program.