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Lawton Constitution
Artillery Facility; BAE Anchor in new Elgin Industrial Park
BY MITCH MEADOR
ELGIN - BAE Systems' 10,000-square-foot initial facility became the first building to open in the Fort Sill Industrial Park in southwest Elgin on Monday.
The words, "This is a great day in Southwest Oklahoma," seemed to echo from every pair of lips at an opening ceremony that brought together representatives of BAE Systems, the City of Elgin, the Elgin Economic Development Authority, the Lawton Industrial Foundation, the City of Lawton, the Fort Sill community and more.
Elgin Mayor Larry Thoma shared an inside joke that he and David Kolker of Elgin Realty had agreed to do a little jig when the building finally opened. Thoma said they wouldn't do it in public, because it wouldn't be very pretty, but Dennis Morris, president of Armament Systems for BAE Systems, said he would be watching for the video on YouTube.
"We're excited about this day because it's been a long time coming. And we're thrilled about it," said Thoma, praising contractor Mike Kimbrough of RCJ Construction Inc., Lawton, for doing yeoman's service on the building.
The initial facility is only a part of the good things that will be coming to the park, Thoma said. Elgin has a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) project that's coming to fruition, and BAE is in the process of buying $3.5 million worth of bonds so Elgin can bring in the infrastructure needed to develop the Fort Sill Industrial Park. Thoma said bids will be opened Sept. 9, and construction of BAE Systems' 150,000-square-foot operations facility is going to begin in just a few weeks.
"We see ourselves as sort of the anchor store in the mall for the industrial park," Mark Signorelli, vice president of Army programs for BAE Systems' Armament Systems, said before the ceremony started. "In this building we will be building subsystems for vehicles that we'll deliver in 2009, and then also starting those subsystems for the vehicles that we'll deliver from the operations facility in 2010. ...
"Right now we have five employees in Elgin, and we're going to continue to ramp up as we bring more work into this initial facility. When we get the main facility on line, we'll have a staff of about 100 employees.
"We intend to bring as much work here as we can. We're excited about the workforce, the community and the potential here," Signorelli said. "We're going to do the Non-Line of Sight Cannon and Non-Line of Sight Mortar here. We're going to do the Paladin (Integrated Management system) program here. And we're looking for other work that's appropriate to the facility that we can bring in here."
"On behalf of the 100,000 men and women of BAE Systems around the world, it's a pleasure to be able to welcome all of you here to our newest home here at the Fort Sill Industrial Park," Morris said. "As I look around at the progress that's being made here, the one word that comes to mind is commitment.
"Today we're not just about celebrating the doors opening on the first phase of the Fort Sill Industrial Park, but we're celebrating a commitment to this outstanding community. Our company committed to work with the people of the Comanche County region to develop an industrial park in Elgin that would serve as production center for the most advanced field artillery system in the world, supporting the men and women who serve in uniform.
"We knew if we could cast the vision for establishing operations here, the hard-working people of Oklahoma would take care of the rest. We've walked the long road during the past decade, but the building you see here is a demonstration that our commitment was unwavering, and this community is on the verge of something great," Morris said.
Morris said the opening also represents a commitment to the men and women in uniform, to provide them with the very best equipment when they go into battle.
"To all of our soldiers with us today, we are grateful for your tireless and inspiring commitment. You have never let us down, and we, together with the people of Southwest Oklahoma, pledge to serve you with the same dedication that begins right here with the opening of our new facility," Morris said.
Morris said no one has been more committed to establishing BAE Systems in Elgin than U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe, whom he called "vital to the continued success of the Non-Line of Sight Cannon and ensuring the revolutionary capabilities of this system reach the hands of our soldiers as quickly as possible."
In his off-the-cuff remarks, Inhofe made the prediction that John McCain will be the next president, because that will leave the path open for Inhofe to become chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
More military spending?
"What we want to do when that happens is start a massive rebuilding," said Inhofe, ROkla. He noted that the percentage of the gross domestic product spent on defense had been 5.7 percent over the past 100 years, but by the end of the Clinton administration it had dropped to 2.7 percent. He wants to see that figure go back
up to between 4.5 and 5 percent.
Inhofe recognized the contributions of Fourth District Congressman Tom Cole; John Mullett, who was working on the project before BAE Systems acquired United Defense; and John Bonsel, his former military affairs staffer.
In his prepared remarks, Inhofe said the effort started in 2004 when the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee that he chairs reauthorized the Economic Development Administration, making $2.25 million available for the development of the Fort Sill Industrial Park.
"There is no better location than Elgin for the future development of field artillery as well as other elements of the Army's Future Combat System. Its proximity to Fort Sill enables combat systems to roll off the assembly line and onto the testing range. This is a great day for Elgin and Oklahoma - but that is not the reason why we are here or why this facility was built.
"Today is about our national security, the future of our United States Army and most importantly, our soldiers. The security environment of the 21st century is unclear. ... We must ensure our soldiers have the equipment to meet all challenges in this dynamic security environment," Inhofe said.
"This was an exciting day," said Lt. Gov. Jari Askins, calling it an affirmation of the partnership between BAE Systems, the City of Elgin and Fort Sill. She noted that as big as the initial facility seems, the operations facility will be 15 times larger.
"We believe as it ramps up and a year from now is going full steam ahead, that other industries will see how strong the community is, how widereaching the area is in terms of the workforce, and that they will be willing and looking forward to opportunities within this industrial park as well," she said.
Askins said one of the reasons that Elgin has the industrial park is because the City of Elgin and the Elgin Economic Development Authority were able to go to the State School Land Commission and purchase school lands for the project.
"The School Land Commission is a trust dedicated to making the best use of school lands for the benefit of education, and there are times that more than an agricultural lease has a great benefit. This is one of those opportunities, and it took a lot of effort and a lot of persistence - I think about 13 or 14 months of work - for the City of Elgin to be able to acquire this property. But persistence paid off," said Askins. "It's a great day today."