Nov. 13 – A San Diego-based defense contractor plans to open an operation in Daviess County. Representatives from Kratos Corporation went to the Daviess County Council to talk about a proposed project at the WestGate Tech Park.
“This first project consists of two buildings. They hope to open the first next year and the other in two years. Each of the buildings will cost about $30 million. For equipment they are talking about $25 million to $75 million. They are talking about 100 up to 150 jobs with an average annual wage of $80,000,” said Matt Conrad of Stimulus Consulting, who is working with the contractor.
While Kratos may not be a household name, the company is a major player in the defense industry with $1 billion in annual revenue and operations nationwide.
“Kratos is a mid-size defense contractor. They have six operations across the country. Until now there has been no presence in Indiana, but they have been doing more and more work at Crane. They do a lot of missile and hypersonic work,” Conrad said . . “They want to build a campus in Westgate. This project would be about rockets and hypersonics. This project will involve some testbeds where they do things digitally and also produce things for flight.”
The project may just be the opening of a much larger project in Daviess County.
“They have big plans for the campus as a whole. They have a 10-year plan with a goal of $450 million in capital improvements with 600 employees,” Conrad said.
“Kratos is excited to consider Daviess County for this project,” said Mike Johns, senior vice president of Kratos. “We are truly impressed by the warm reception we have received from both Daviess County and the state of Indiana, and we are grateful for the community’s support as we evaluate this important decision.”
Kratos officials have filed paperwork requesting tax cuts on both real estate and equipment. County officials have welcomed the planned development.
“I know it’s been in the works for a while. The county is very appreciative. I think the county is looking forward to working with you. It’s pretty exciting,” said Daviess County Councilman Tony Duncheon.
“That’s something we’ve been working on. They’re publicly traded. I don’t think they’ll need much help and the project shouldn’t put a lot of strain on existing infrastructure. This is certainly good news for the province.” Tom Schaffer, chairman of the Daviess County Council. ‘This will be more assembly work. The pay will be good.’
