Defense manufacturer sets sights on Biddeford

BIDDEFORD – A military optics maker plans to set up shop in a city industrial plaza and is expected to create 20 to 40 jobs in its first two years of operation.

In a statement distributed by the office of Sen. Susan Collins, Chief Executive Officer Jon Asbjorn Bo of Simrad Optronics, VingTech’s parent company, said the decision to establish the VingTech manufacturing facility in Maine was made after contacts with state and local officials, including Gov. John Baldacci.

“We are happy to expand our business into Maine and to be able to utilize the state’s skilled and dedicated work force,” Asbjorn Bo said. “We conducted an extensive search throughout New England and Maine offered all of the right reasons to come here with local and state and federal support, Pine Tree Zone benefits, the work ethic of the residents and the quality of life. It was a perfect fit.”

Asbjorn Bo cited support for the company from Biddeford Mayor Wallace Nutting and City Economic Development Director Robert Dodge, as well as Collins.

VingTech is a subsidiary of Simrad Optronics, a Norwegian electro-optical manufacturer headquartered in Oslo.

According to the statement from Collins’ office, the company was founded in 1948 and manufactures military electro-optics and supplies defense and security sighting and infrared systems to the United States military, NATO and more than 40 other nations.

“This will be a great facility with cutting-edge technology and good pay for employees. … This commitment from VingTech is an indication that Maine can be successful in attracting new industries and is another example of what can happen when federal, state and local governments work together to create opportunities for new and existing companies to grow and expand,” Collins said.

Baldacci on Wednesday welcomed VingTech to Maine.

“Maine is competing for and attracting companies from all over the world with its quality of life, dedicated work force and Pine Tree Zone incentives,” Baldacci said in a statement. “I look forward to the positive presence the high-tech manufacturing company will have on the community and the state.”