Vector marks expanded facility
Published 12:05 am Saturday, May 4, 2013
Gov. Robert Bentley capped off what he said has been a great week for Alabama by celebrating with Vector Aerospace the grand opening of its expanded Andalusia facility.
On Monday, Bentley was in Auburn for the grand opening of General Electric Aviations jet engines component facility.
Tuesday, he joined officials of Mercedes-Benz U.S. International to break ground on a $70 million expansion in Tuscaloosa that will mean 600 new jobs.
Thursday, he was in Lincoln to join Honda officials in celebrating the unveiling of Acura’s MDX, which will be made exclusively in Alabama.
“I’m proud to be with you today in Covington County, celebrating this expansion,” Bentley said.
Declan O’Shea, president and CEO of Vector Aerospace Corporation, expressed his appreciation of the local employees who make continued growth of the Vector facility possible. He also saluted state and local government officials for their support.
At present, Vector employs 150 people in its 85,000 square foot Andalusia facility and does approximately $30 million in business annually. O’Shea said he expects those numbers to continue to grow.
“Ultimately, it was because of the people in this facility that we could do the expansion,” he said. “Their work and reputation help us attract sales.”
The grand opening drew hundreds of local, regional and state officials, as well as local supporters. Vector provided guided tours of the facility, and served a buffet lunch under a huge white tent after the official ceremonies.
Among the dignitaries was Samuel Adcock, senior vice president for strategy and development at EADS, the parent company of both Vector and Airbus; Commander Matthew Bowen of the U.S. Navy; and Capt. James Fisher of the U.S. Navy, as well as representatives of Vector’s customers.