Rockwell Collins plans new U.K. building

Rockwell Collins, with about 500 employees in the United Kingdom, broke ground Thursday in Reading, England, for a new three-story building that will provide additional space for a variety of functions.

The Cedar Rapids-based avionics and communications provider will move into a building in June 2015 that will feature 40,000 square feet of laboratory facilities with research-and-development space, plus 30,000 square feet of offices. The latter will house high-value engineering, business development, program management and shared service employees.

Colin Mahoney, Rockwell Collins senior vice president, International and Service Solutions, said the new center has been designed for the development of advanced technology, particularly in the field of satellite navigation, networking and other government systems.

'The creation of this center of excellence represents a significant long term investment in the U.K.,” Mahoney said, 'This facility will help us meet the evolving needs of our commercial and military customers in the U.K., Europe and around the world.”

Rockwell Collins will invest $34 million over the next 15 years in facility-related costs. The company said the Reading center will meet existing operational needs while allowing sufficient space for long-term and strategic business growth.

With three main sites at Crawley, Burgess Hill and Reading, England, Rockwell Collins derives more than 75 percent of its U.K. revenues from exports.

Rockwell Collins is an approved British defense contractor and works closely with all facets of that country's defense industry, from small and medium enterprises to large multinational defense companies.