Robert Premus, an economics professor at Wright State University, called the announcement “really good news.”
“You know, this used to happen all the time,” Premus said. “It has sort of become rare.”
Announcements of this kind rarely happen “in isolation,” Premus added. He said he hoped that whatever “momentum” there is continues with other companies.
Honeywell, a maker of firefighter and first-responder gear, will produce “essential components” for the next generation of the U.S. Army’s “extended cold weather clothing system” (ECWCS) garments, clothing meant to protect soldiers weathering cold and wet conditions in Iraq and Afghanistan.
To meet the demand, the company has installed new manufacturing equipment at its One Innovation Court plant north of Shoup Mill Road. The equipment will go into a recently completed 5,200-square-foot expansion there.
The hiring of 150 workers started in September and will continue through 2010, said Jim Green, a spokesman for Honeywell. Before adding the Army work, the site had more than 400 employees, Green said.
Honeywell looks for annual sales of $8 million from the Army contract during the next 30 months, Green said. All manufacturing work springing from the contract will be done in Dayton, he said.
Honeywell International, a Fortune 100 company, acquired what was Total Fire Group/Morning Pride Manufacturing in May 2008.
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