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Office at The Gate

Boeing celebrates opening at APG

BY BRYNA ZUMER

Posted 2/01/11

The Boeing Company, which bills itself as the world’s largest aerospace company, keeps a pretty tight lid on its $34-billion defense and security business operation, but it did open the lid just a little Monday for an official celebration of its new building just inside the Aberdeen Proving Ground perimeter.

Boeing has been operating at The GATE office and research park near APG’s Route 715 gate since September, and is one of the major defense contractors already settled in. GATE stands for Government and Technology Enterprise.

Raytheon opened its doors in another building at The GATE two weeks ago, and SAIC announced last week it intends to have an office in another building under construction at the development.

Roger Krone, president of network and space systems for Boeing Defense, Space & Security, said the company has had some type of presence in Aberdeen before, but this is the first office building it has had on post. Boeing’s operations in the 6,000-square-foot building will feature program management and engineering.

“It’s not just a field office,” Krone said, adding he does not believe the company has a similar, on-post office anywhere else at military installations.

Being near other major contractors, not to mention the Army, “lends itself to this kind of collaborative work, which I think will pay dividends for the Army,” Krone said.

The formal ribbon-cutting was specifically targeted for Monday to accommodate Congressman Dutch Ruppersberger, who was also celebrating his birthday. Ruppersberger’s Second Congressional District covers the southern third of Harford County, including APG.

A surprise birthday cake was prepared for Ruppersberger by The Edward St. John Foundation, a nonprofit created by St. John Properties, developer of the GATE, and its founder, Ed St. John.

Ruppersberger said he has been friendly with St. John since Ruppersberger served as a Baltimore County councilman and later county executive before his election to Congress.

“Boeing, let me tell you, you will have one of the best buildings you have in the country,” Ruppersberger said just before the ribbon-cutting.