Congressman Brian Higgins (D-NY) today praised the announcement by Cobham, a global aerospace and defense company, that it will be expanding its Orchard Park facility, Carleton Technologies, Inc.

“I’m excited that Cobham is making such a significant investment in its Orchard Park operations,” Higgins said. “Cobham’s investment will strengthen the economy and brings good-paying jobs to Western New York.  They make critical equipment for the military and we have the best workforce in the country to support their mission.  This announcement means exciting things for Cobham’s Orchard Park operations and our region.”

Cobham specializes in developing airborne defense capabilities, including fighter and transport oxygen systems, external fuel tanks, tactical aircraft weapons carriage and release equipment for missile and guided bomb technologies, and air refueling systems. It will be transferring some of its engineering and production operations from California to Orchard Park to form a “weapons release center of excellence.”  The Orchard Park facility currently employs more than 300 people. The move is expected to create dozens of new local jobs in the next year and add significant numbers of additional jobs in the future.

In a meeting with Congressman Higgins, Ken Kota, GM of Cobham’s Carleton Technologies Inc. business unit, said, “I am excited to have this opportunity to establish the weapons release center of excellence and bring additional jobs to our area. Part of our reason for doing so is the strong level of support we have from our local elected officials and congressional delegation.  I would especially like to thank Congressman Brian Higgins and County Executive Chris Collins for their support throughout this process.”

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