Published: September 04, 2008 12:58 am      

Continuing commitment

Troop-supporting Electronic Warfare Associates celebrates opening of new offices

FAIRMONT — Electronic Warfare Associates’ new location is a continuation of the company’s 20-year commitment to West Virginia.

EWA celebrated the official opening of its new Fairmont offices at 5000 NASA Boulevard with a ribbon-cutting event Wednesday morning.

The company, a charter member of the West Virginia High Technology Consortium Foundation, is now stationed in Fairmont’s I-79 Technology Park in the South Tower.

Frank Blake, vice president of engineering, said EWA was formerly housed in the Middletown Mall and the Alan B. Mollohan Innovation Center. The new workspace is two floors and measures 26,000 square feet.

The Fairmont facility has approximately 30 employees, and subcontractors provide additional support.

EWA works on projects related to U.S. defense, creating hardware and software for the Army, Navy and Special Operations Command. Everything that the company is doing supports the troops across the world, Blake said.

“You can be proud of the contribution Fairmont is making,” he said.

“We’ve been here for 20 years, and we plan to be here a lot longer,” Carl Guerreri, CEO of EWA, said.

He said the company is “just one small part” of the I-79 Technology Park development, which was the vision of Congressman Alan Mollohan and has grown tremendously.

Mollohan, who was also present at the event, said so many people have played a part in the progress of the technology park.

“It’s about everybody’s vision,” he said. “It’s about everybody working together. It’s also about the growth of competency.”

Mollohan congratulated EWA on its “tremendous” new offices. He thanked the company, which has been a primary contributor to the growth of the high-tech sector, for fulfilling its commitment to the state. The company also provides job opportunities for young people, he said.

“This is really very special,” he said. “It’s a wonderful space for employees to work and do good work in West Virginia.”

“What this means is the continuation of growth of high technology ... and it keeps the momentum growing. You have to have space for companies to grow.”

Following the presentation Wednesday, Mollohan and members of the media toured the new facility. EWA representatives described the work being done on military vehicles and intelligence shelters and showed visitors a workshop for building electronic equipment.

People also got a look at a remote weapon on a pan tilt device with video and a software lab for electronic warfare systems on ships. In addition, EWA showed off its wireless lab, which allows the monitoring of communications, and other laboratories.

E-mail Jessica Legge at jlegge@timeswv.com.