Governor Mark R. Warner (D) announced Wednesday, Jan. 4, that Lockheed Martin Corporation will invest $7 million to open the Eastern Automated Flight Service Station Hub in Loudoun County.
The new hub will be located in Ashburn.
LOCKHEED MARTIN CORPORATION spokesperson Joseph Wagovich said the company chose Loudoun County based on a number of factors.
"It was important that we locate one of our three hubs in the greater D.C. area," Wagovich said. "Also, it is close to our service station in Leesburg."
In 2007, the company's service station in Leesburg will close.
"Our employees in Leesburg will be transferred to the new hub in Loudoun County," Wagovich said.
Other factors include Loudoun County's high quality of life, the amount of air traffic and the number of pilots in the area.
The new hub will create 200 new jobs over 30 months.
"Initially, those jobs will go to flight specialists from other sites around the county," Wagovich said. "As more employees transfer and retire, we will replace them with new people."
In order to work at the new flight service center, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requires employees to have a college degree and must undergo training to become a flight specialists and pass an FAA flight physical.
A flight specialist assists pilots in filing flight plans, provides weather reports and geographical information and prepares notices to airman, Wagovich said.
"The flight specialists help get the planes from point A to point B," Wagovich said.
THE VIRGINIA ECONOMIC Development Partnership worked with the Loudoun County Department of Economic Development to secure the project for Virginia.
"We have always had a good relationship with the company," said Virginia Economic Development Partnership's Christie Collins. "That always helps with the negotiation process."
The Virginia Department of Business Assistance will provide training through its Workforce Services Jobs Investment Program.