Construction Underway on Spectrum Astro's 'Factory of the Future'

GILBERT, Ariz., Jan. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Construction of Spectrum Astro's all new satellite manufacturing facility called the ``Factory of the Future'' moved into full operation on December 27, 2001 the company announced today. The initial construction is a partial build-out of the company's Phase 1 plans and provides the manufacturing and test capacity required to support Spectrum Astro's on going and emerging product base. Completion of the new factory located in Gilbert, Arizona is scheduled for December 2002.

The manufacturing facility is dedicated to the manufacture, integration, and final assembly of high performance space systems, providing 124,200 square feet of manufacturing and test space. This includes all necessary manufacturing shops, component level integration and test areas, a thermal vacuum chamber, and an acoustics chamber. The space vehicle Integration and Test bays encompass 28,600 square feet of floor space that can handle up to 27 space vehicles in various stages of assembly.

Activities completed previously include the acquisition of the 80 acre parcel (23 acres are needed for Phase 1), completion of all architectural plans, application for and approval of all permits, long-lead pre-fabrication material procurement, selection of and negotiation with a general contractor, and acquisition of initial funding. Spectrum Astro retained ownership and is using traditional bank financing for this phase to ensure close management and on-time completion of the project. The general contractor for the project is Joe E. Woods, Inc. and the architect is Deutsch Associates.

The 80 acre campus is located approximately 2 miles from Spectrum Astro's current headquarters in Gilbert, Arizona and is designed to enable 20 years of corporate growth. The long-term plan encompasses nine individual buildings and provides office facilities for up to 3,000 employees and roughly 750,000 square feet of manufacturing space. Phase 1 features three separate buildings with a combined 270,000 square feet of engineering, manufacturing, test, office, and support space. The centerpiece of the campus is the 124,200 square foot manufacturing facility. The main office building comprises 101,290 square feet and houses 600 employees, satellite mission operations centers, and satellite integration and test operations centers. A 40,300 square foot support building houses a recreation facility, cafeteria, daycare, and a 450 seat auditorium.

Spectrum Astro is a privately held, rapidly growing high technology company, specializing in the design, development, integration, test, and production of high performance satellites, space-based satellite systems and subsystems for sophisticated defense, science and commercial opportunities. The company is headquartered in Gilbert, Arizona and maintains additional offices in the Los Angeles, Pasadena, Tucson, Colorado Springs, and Washington D.C. areas. For more information, visit www.spectrumastro.com .