Solon, OH — HDT Global (HDT), a leading provider of highly engineered, application-specific solutions for military, civilian, commercial and industrial customers announced the transition of its manufacturing operations based in Buena Vista, VA to a new facility located adjacent to its current Huntsville, Alabama facility. HDT also announced the planned opening of its new built-for-purpose HDT Battle Lab and Advanced Development (BLADE) Center in Spotsylvania, VA.
The HDT Buena Vista facility has provided state of the art expeditionary shelter systems for many years. In its new location, HDT will build on its legacy by incorporating value-stream aligned manufacturing methodologies, ensuring rapid and flexible response to our customers’ needs for both current and future programs and initiatives. Michael Kinney, Vice President of Operations, stated, “The new facility offers increased production capacity, while decreasing overhead costs and streamlining related production processes into one geographic area, strategically located in Huntsville.” Sean Bond, President and CEO, added, “The decision to move our shelter manufacturing facility was thoughtfully made.
Ultimately, this transition is best for the benefit of the warfighter and the benefit of our organization. The impact will be increased competitiveness and value in our operations, and the opportunity for HDT to grow in a highly competitive global market. We expect HDT Huntsville to become the premier military production facility across all of Northern Alabama.”
“HDT is an innovative company that serves our nation’s military, and I am honored to see the company has decided to invest in an expansion in Huntsville that will create more than 120 jobs,” said Alabama Governor Robert Bentley. “The mobile command units produced by HDT in Huntsville will assist U.S. soldiers in critical missions around the world.”
“Huntsville is proud for the role it will play in HDT’s growing business. Huntsville and our region continues to show it is a premiere location for high tech manufacturing and innovation,” said Huntsville (AL) Mayor Tommy Battle.
“We are excited to be a part of this announcement. This expansion is just another indicator of the quality workforce that we have here,” said Limestone County (AL) Commission Chairman Mark Yarborough.
The recently signed agreement provides an additional 206,500 sq. ft. of manufacturing space to HDT’s existing Huntsville capacity. “HDT has been a great tenant in the SouthPoint business park, and we are excited to see their continued growth,” stated Joe Hollingsworth, CEO of The Hollingsworth Companies. “Their visibility and continued growth have helped us attract new prospects to our Build to Suit buildings within the park. We will start construction on another 100K+ building Q1 of 2017 to keep up with the demand for defense and automotive industry related customers.”
HDT also announced its planned expansion in the Fredericksburg/Spotsylvania, VA area. HDT’s four current locations in this area will consolidate into the new, built-for-purpose HDT Battle Lab and Advanced Development (BLADE) Center. The BLADE Center includes over 3-acres of secured proving grounds for product development, demonstrations, and training. The HDT BLADE Center will become a showcase of HDT capabilities and growth in Virginia, especially important for nearby customers in Washington DC, Dahlgren, Ft. Belvoir and Quantico.
“HDT’s expansion in the Spotsylvania/Fredericksburg area is very exciting. Our new facility will become the incubator for integrating emerging technologies into new product lines and rapidly prototyping new solutions to address urgent and future customer needs,” said Dr. Carl Pates, Senior Vice President of Engineering.
“We are delighted that HDT is considering our area for its new engineering ‘Technical Development Center’ and will provide opportunities for local interns to become part of the Company’s continuing growth! Affordably convenient to all of the military bases in the region, the Spotsylvania County region is the location of choice for federal and military contractors,” stated Mark Taylor, Spotsylvania County Administrator.
About HDT: Headquartered in Solon, Ohio, USA, HDT Global is widely recognized for its industry-leading production of state-of-the-art, fully integrated deployable solutions, including shelters, generators, heaters, air filtration devices, robotics and other engineered technologies, currently used by U.S. and allied military units worldwide, as well as civilian government and commercial customers. For more information, visit www.hdtglobal.com.
About The Hollingsworth Companies
The Hollingsworth Companies, with facilities located in Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia, are the largest semi-rural Industrial Real Estate development firm in the southeastern United States. For more information about the SouthPoint Business Park, Alabama or The Hollingsworth Companies, contact, Tom Mann, Vice President of Industrial Real Estate, at 865.457.3701.
