Com Dev To Launch U.S.-Based Operations

Com Dev International Ltd. plans to establish a U.S. manufacturing location to bolster its presence in the U.S. government space market, Com Dev announced May 22.
Com Dev’s board has committed $25 million for the plan, and the company has purchased a 46,000-square-foot facility in El Segundo that will house the engineering and production operations of the unit, dubbed Com Dev USA. Upgrades to the facility, which was purchased for $8.8 million, are expected to be completed by the end of October.
Revenue will be generated initially by providing engineering and other support services to U.S.-based prime contractors. Once manufacturing operations are approved by the U.S. government, expected in 2008, Com Dev expects the U.S. operation to generate about $50 million in revenue per year.
David Lizius, who has been with Com Dev for 10 years, has been appointed general manager of Com Dev USA.
“We are very excited by our prospects for capturing meaningful market share in the domestic U.S. market,” Mike Pley, president of Com Dev, said in a statement. “We have been actively encouraged to take this step by existing customers who have indicated a strong interest in having ready access to the Com Dev brand name for their civil and military programs. This initiative will require significant up-front investment, but has the potential to deliver very attractive long-term growth in a business we understand very well.”