Navy contractor to build $13 million training campus in Chesapeake, create 50 jobs

A defense contractor from Beloit, Wisconsin, plans to spend $13 million to construct the first building in what will become a service and training center campus.

Fairbanks Morse Defense leaders and Chesapeake city officials announced the expansion plans Tuesday. Officials said the move is expected to create 50 jobs.

During a groundbreaking event, construction crews scurried across scaffolding and the metal building frame as they began to build the 45,000-square-foot facilityat 733 Curtis Saunders Court in Deep Creek West.

Chesapeake Director of Economic Development Steven Wright said initial project discussions with Fairbanks started in February last year.

“Seeing this building being erected right now is a true source of pride for our city,” Wright said.

The contractor chose the site for its room to grow near its primary customers — the Navy and Coast Guard, Fairbanks Morse Defense CEO George Whittier said.

“We need to be here,” Whittier said.

In addition to training sailors how to operate the company’s valves, engines and other ship parts, the campus enables the contractor to repair and service those parts, Whittier said.

As such, he said the company would need workers for both sides — service technicians and training facility staff.

The company also has space to consolidate its local facilities if need be, he added. Fairbanks announced on its website that it was moving its Norfolk service center, located at 981 Scott St. off Virginia Beach Boulevard, to the new facility.

For more than a century, Fairbanks Morse Defense has manufactured and serviced Navy power and propulsion systems, according to its website. One early function of the company was manufacturing diesel engines for submarines during World War II. The company has locations across the United States and in Quebec and the United Kingdom.

Trevor Metcalfe, 757-222-5345, trevor.metcalfe@pilotonline.com