JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – A company from Denmark will open a robotics assembly facility in the Johnstown area, it announced during a press conference on Friday that concluded the annual Showcase for Commerce defense industry expo in downtown Johnstown.
UXV Technologies will open a 7,000-square-foot facility in about a month at the JARI Business Park in Richland Township, the company’s director for global public affairs, Frederik Bergenfelt Friis, said at 1st Summit Arena @ Cambria County War Memorial.
Copenhagen, Denmark-based UXV Technologies is an innovator in drone and robotics technologies, and the Johnstown location will be its first U.S. site, Bergenfelt Friis said. He said the company plans to hire 15 local people for assembly jobs.
Linda Thomson, Johnstown Area Regional Industries president and CEO, said she is excited for the company’s growth in Johnstown.
“UXV Technologies is leading their field, and we have now garnered their first manufacturing facility in the U.S.,” she said. “They are here, and I believe they are able to grow for many years to come.”
UXV’s expansion to Johnstown was the type of announcement that Thomson has been envisioning since a business relationship began to build in 2015 between Johnstown Area Regional Industries and CenSec, the primary organization among Danish companies in the defense, space and security industries.
UXV Technologies officials have visited Johnstown’s Showcase for Commerce in previous years with CenSec President Klaus Bolving.
“We are thrilled to announce the establishment of a production facility in Johnstown,” UXV Technologies CEO Steven Friberg said in a statement. “This expansion underscores our company’s commitment to strengthening its presence in the United States. With this facility, we are well-equipped to meet the surging market demand for autonomous systems and enhance our production capabilities close to our customers.”
In addition to UXV Technologies’ announcement, the press conference also included announcements by two major companies in Johnstown of defense contract awards worth more than $335 million in total.
JWF Industries and Concurrent Technologies Corp. both announced new contracts.
JWF Industries President and CEO Bill Polacek said that the company received more than $160 million in new contracts for 2023.
Those contracts include tens of millions of dollars for follow-on production awards for its Flyer 72 tactical utility vehicle assembly line, Polacek said. JWF has marked more than a year of partnership with Flyer Defense Systems LLC.
JWF produces Flyer 72 vehicles, assembling 11,000 parts to make each vehicle, and the company is closing in on completing its 200th vehicle out of the 296 it was contracted to produce, Polacek said.
In addition to follow-on production with Flyer, JWF has new contracts in 2023 from a confidential renewable energy generation company for power generation equipment, as well as contracts for construction equipment for a regional original equipment manufacturer.
“These awards have helped us sustain 460 total jobs that are highly skilled, family-sustaining jobs, in addition to hiring an additional 53 more in the next 12 months in Johnstown alone,” Polacek said.
Concurrent Technologies Corp. (CTC) announced a wide range of contract awards adding up to $191 million. However, about $170 million of that total has not yet been finalized, said CTC President and CEO Ed Sheehan.
The Richland Township-based company provides technological solutions to safeguard national security, retain U.S. technological advantages and support American manufacturing, Sheehan said.
The contracts that Sheehan announced Friday included new and follow-on contract awards.
“Through these contracts, the company will help the U.S. Marine Corps investigate next-generation ground vehicles, and support the efforts of the Marines’ and Air Force to improve energy efficiency and mission readiness,” he said.
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