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“The property in Commerce City allows us
to consolidate our Denver and Commerce City
operations and grow the business,” said Rod
Fisher, an Intsel manager. “We provide steel
for projects all over the world and access
to the BNSF railway will further allow us
to support the global market.”
Raytheon Looking to Add up to
2,000 jobs in Tucson
Raytheon is planning a major expansion in
Tucson that could bring the defense contract
as many as 2,000 jobs.
The expansion, reported by the Arizona
Daily Star, could be a major boon to the
southern Arizona region.
Singapore to Buy Military Heli-
Copters from Boeing
Singapore has agreed to buy new CH-47F
heavy-lift helicopters from Boeing as it
seeks to replace its aging fleet of military
helicopters.
The country’s defense ministry also plans
to buy H225M medium-lift helicopters from
Airbus, Reuters reports. The country did not
provide specifics on how many helicopters it
would be purchasing.
Washington State a Top Con-
tender to Build New Supersonic
Jets
A Boston company is eyeing Spokane as a
location to manufacture a supersonic jet now
in the early stages of development. It’s a
move that could create hundreds of high-
paying jobs.
Spike Aerospace is designing an 18-pas-
senger supersonic jet that could fly from
New York to Los Angeles in just over three
hours. The privately held company is one
of three U.S. startups looking to revive
supersonic technology with a focus on busi-
ness travelers.
At an October aerospace conference in
Lynnwood, Washington, Spike’s chief execu-
tive officer said the company is considering
several locations in Washington, including
Spokane, Moses Lake and Everett. The company
has considered several other states, but CEO
Vik Kachoria has called Washington “one of
the top contenders.”
The state Department of Commerce ap-
proved a grant to speed up development of
land currently owned by Spokane International
Airport. Local officials said an out-of-state
aerospace company has expressed “great inter-
est” in building a factory on the site, but
they declined to name the company, citing a
nondisclosure agreement.
Startup Car Company to Build a
Plant in Casa Grande, AZ
A California startup company will build a
$700 million plant in Casa Grande to manufac-
ture luxury electric vehicles.
The plan by Lucid Motors announced in late
November eventually will involve hiring 2,000
workers for what would be the state’s only car
manufacturing operation. The first hires will
take place next year, with training of local
workers for the jobs through the community
and technical colleges in Pinal and Maricopa
counties.
Plans are to have the first vehicles ready
for sale by 2018 with the goal of producing
8,000 to 10,000 built the first year. The goal
is full-scale production of more than 50,000
a year by 2022.
At this point, though, the vehicle is little
more than an “alpha prototype” for what Pe-
ter Rawlinson, the company’s chief technology
officer, said will get 400 miles on a single
charge. He said it is now ready for beta test-
ing; it will take until late 2018 for actual
production to occur.
Raytheon to Add Jobs in Tucson,
AZ
Tucson-based Raytheon Missile Systems plans
to expand its Southern Arizona operations and
add nearly 2,000 high-paying jobs over five
years, potentially adding billions of dollars
to the local economy.
Raytheon announced the expansion plan in late
November, after reaching tentative agreements
with officials from the city, county and state
on potentially tens of millions of dollars in
tax breaks and related incentives.
In return, Tucson will get the kind of
higher-paying, technology-based manufacturing
jobs that have become the gold standard for
economic development.
Raytheon said it plans to hire workers at all
skill levels, with an emphasis on engineering
and other higher-wage, technical positions.
Missile Systems president Taylor Lawrence said
the company’s expansion plans are driven by
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