Lockheed signs lease for new facility

ROCKVILLE, Md.--Lockheed Martin announced in August the signing of a lease to open a new work site in Frederick, Md., to be opened later this year. The office will initially house about 100 employees from the Transportation and Security Solutions Business Unit workforce, focused largely on serving the Federal Aviation Administration, and as many as 500 employees going forward. Anna DiPaola, the unit's director of communications and public affairs, said the move was driven by the dual goal of keeping employees happy and accommodating increasing growth. "We started looking at employee numbers of those living in Frederick County," she said, "and we wanted to make sure our talent wanted to stay with us. We want to continue to be an employee of choice." Also, she said three major contracts won last year--for integrated security with the NY Mass Transit Authority ($212 million), to build the Electronic Archives of the Future for the National Archives ($308 million), and to support the 2010 census ($500 million)--have led to the need for expansion. Plus, if Lockheed lands the lucrative Secure Border Initiative contract, likely to be awarded by the end of September, the security and transportation folks will have even more work on their hands. As it is, the business unit has hired nearly 500 employees since it was established in 2003. Keeping those employees, in this era of hard-to-find engineers, is paramount, said DiPaola. "We have so many things going on focusing on work-life balance," she said, and this new facility, the site for which was chosen by looking at employee zip codes, is an example of the company's desire to make working for Lockheed easy and fulfilling.