Assemblyman Herb Conaway, Jr., M.D. (D-Burlington) on Thursday joined with other state officials at Lockheed Martin’s Moorestown facility to celebrate the company’s procurement of a $100 million contract with the federal government to develop radar defense technology, which was made possible, in part, by a grant program sponsored by Conaway.
“Since being signed into law just over a year ago, this grant program has really sprouted legs, supporting a number of high profile business investments to help boost job creation in New Jersey. The Burlington County area, in particular, has reaped sizeable benefits from this program with Burlington Coat Factory’s recent investment announcement and now Lockheed Martin.
“Lockheed has long been one of the world’s leading technological innovators. Their relationship with our state has been mutually beneficial as New Jersey has one of the brightest and most educated work forces in the nation, which has helped the company provide cutting-edge advancements. The fact that our Grow NJ grant program, coupled with the federal government contract, will ensure that they have a continued substantial presence in our state is great news.
“Clearly the program is living up to its name. Growing jobs in New Jersey and creating investments in the community is exactly what the Grow New Jersey program is designed to accomplish,” said Conaway.
Lockheed Martin recently won the U.S. Navy’s Aegis Combat System Engineering Agent program contract to provide systems engineering and development support to all Aegis-equipped ships between now and 2018, a move that will preserve area jobs for years to come.
To support Lockheed Martin’s bid, the NJ Economic Development Authority awarded the company a $40 million Grow NJ incentive grant for new machinery, equipment and infrastructure improvements at its Moorestown facility. Conaway was one of the prime sponsors of the Grow New Jersey Assistance Act, which was signed into law last year establishing the grant program.