Raytheon Co. has hired about 150 people this year in Fullerton and plans to add another 130 by year’s end, the defense contractor said.
The hiring could go beyond that, according to Kim Kerry, a top executive at the Fullerton operation for Waltham, Mass.-based Raytheon. There could be need for another 50 people, if not more, in 2006, he said.
“We’re in a growth mode that’s a bit unusual, more than normal,” Kerry said.
In all, the hiring push could add 300 people to Raytheon’s ranks in Fullerton for a total of 1,500.
The company is Orange County’s No. 3 defense contractor by workers, after Boeing Co. and Parker Hannifin Corp. Raytheon also has operations in Huntington Beach, Newport Beach and Irvine.
The hiring marks something of a comeback for the Fullerton operation, which used to be part of Hughes Aircraft Co. Back in the early 1990s, Hughes counted 12,000 local workers, mostly in Fullerton.
Today, Raytheon’s Fullerton site is nestled in the corner of what used to be the Hughes complex next to Amerige Heights, a housing and retail development.
Raytheon develops radar systems and does air traffic control work in Fullerton. The operation is growing with business from Asia, North Africa and the Pentagon.
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Kerry: “We’re in a growth mode that’s a bit unusual, more than normal” |
The expansion comes despite a lack of gains so far from a touted joint venture started four years ago with France’s Thales Group.
Raytheon is looking for communications and system engineers to work in Fullerton, said David Whitehorn, a senior human resources manager.
The company is trying to woo potential workers with the prospect of world travel and doing business globally, Whitehorn said.
Officials also are trying to lure some Boeing workers impacted by the company’s planned satellite combination with Lockheed Martin Corp. in Denver. But Raytheon’s larger Space and Airborne Systems division in El Segundo is heading up the appeal to Boeing workers who may not want to move to Colorado.
About two-thirds of the hiring in Fullerton has come at ThalesRaytheonSystems Co.
Formed in 2001, Raytheon and Thales own the venture, which has operations in Fullerton and near Paris, where the business is headquartered.
ThalesRaytheonSystems designs and develops radar and communications systems.
Prior to the venture’s launch, the companies estimated the business would have yearly sales of about $600 million. Raytheon, which counts $20 billion in yearly sales, hasn’t released recent numbers for the venture.
“We’ve grown somewhat beyond that (in Fullerton) to well over half of that $600 million,” said Kerry, who is chief executive of Thalas Raytheon Systems-USA.
So far, the growth in Fullerton has stemmed from operations that predate the joint venture, Kerry said. Contracts are parsed out between Thales and Raytheon operations or could be handled entirely by one company.
So far, no new work has emerged from the joint venture.
“We’re really not quite there, to be very candid,” Kerry said. “We’re moving in the right direction. We think we’re going to start to see that shape up, perhaps next year.”
The venture has its cultural and engineering differences.
French engineers prefer to nearly complete the engineering and design process before going to testing, Kerry said. U.S. engineers like to prototype products more often and earlier in the process.
The companies have set up a direct Internet link for videoconferencing. Using the Internet, French engineers can be phoned by dialing just six digits.
The company also has set up cross-cultural meetings, Whitehorn said. Basic French lessons are offered after hours.
The Fullerton operation, which had its first foreign contract back in the 1960s with Japan, is busy doing work for countries in the Middle East and North Africa, Kerry said.
NATO countries also are upgrading their systems. ThalesRaytheonSystems got the first contract for a $400 million upgrade for four NATO countries.
“Many of the countries have very dated systems or they don’t have systems with automation,” Kerry said. “Enemies are sophisticated. You have to keep up with that level of sophistication.”
ThalesRaytheonSystems provides short- and long-range radar systems, as well as radar for finding weapons. It also provides systems for tracking aircraft.
Short-range radar helps spot everything from helicopters to tanks up to 44 miles away. The long-range systems can reach up to 280 miles but are less portable.
The other radar systems find enemy weapons and help destroy them before their mortar shells or bullets can reach their targets.
ThalesRaytheonSystems recently won $130 million in Pentagon work amid the operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The deal is part of a larger contract valued at more than $220 million.
Under the deal, ThalesRaytheonSystems is providing spare parts for Firefinder radars used to detect weapons on the battlefield.
The other big piece of Thales-RaytheonSystems involves setting up command and control radar systems that track just about anything. The project could use radar from other suppliers, Kerry said.
“We build all that glues the systems together,” he said.
Raytheon also is expanding in Fullerton with work on air traffic control and ship systems that support other company units around the world.
