Andrew Kreitz has a message for Sandoval County residents: this is a project you will want.
Kreitz, co-founder and chief financial officer of military contractor Castelion Corporation, spoke at Wednesday’s county commission meeting, offering new information on the proposed hypersonic rocket manufacturing and testing site in Rio Rancho Estates, known as Project Ranger in county documents.
His presentation focused on the economic benefits the company anticipates, the investment Castelion intends to make and the safety measures planned for the site. The presentation before the county commission was a condensed version of that shared earlier in Rio Rancho.
Kreitz began with a rundown of the activities that will take place at the plant, if Sandoval County is chosen. He said workers there will assemble missiles, build solid rocket motors and assemble and test electronic components.
While there will be static fire testing of the rocket motors on site, Kreitz said, no missiles will be launched.
“All of our flight testing is done either at Department of Defense ranges or at a handful of certified (Federal Aviation Administration)-approved private ranges around the country,” he said.
Kreitz said there will be no manufacturing or mixing of chemicals at the plant, either.
He noted that the site will need to meet regulations set by organizations that include the Department of Defense and the state environment and transportation departments, as well as various building and fire codes.
Kreitz said preliminary site plans call for various buildings at the site to be separated from one another so that a fire or other incident in one does not impact another.
He said the proposed location on 29th Avenue, near its intersection with Encino Road, is farther from residential and commercial areas than similar plants across the country. Kreitz said he knows of no incident at any of those sites in which anyone was harmed.
County and company officials have said many rockets made in Rio Rancho Estates would be taken to White Sands Missile Range. Kreitz told commissioners that while a proposed delivery route passes Cleveland High School and a hospital, traffic studies the company has done show no realistic chance of harm to the public.
Munitions made at the plant will be “insensitive,” Kreitz said, meaning they will be able to withstand various stimuli, including contact with burning jet fuel, impacts from anti-tank weapons or .50-caliber rifle rounds and a 40-foot drop.
They will also be transported in specialized shipping containers, he said.
Kreitz said Castelion’s initial investment will be more than $100 million and the plant will employ at least 300 workers.
He said Sandoval County is ideal for the plant because of its large amount of available land and large, suitable local workforce.
He said the average compensation of the staff, which would largely consist of engineers and technicians, will be about $100,000 a year.
“We want to be investing hundreds of millions of dollars more in the years to come,” Kreitz said, adding that the company plans partnerships with local schools and colleges.
Also at the meeting, commissioners approved an economic development agreement related to Project Ranger and a grant agreement covering an adjacent road construction project.
The economic development agreement, under the Local Economic Development Act, makes the county fiscal agent for $10 million in incentives, half of which would come from the state. Sandoval County would contribute $4 million and the City of Rio Rancho the remainder.
Project Ranger isn’t necessarily a done deal.
“The process continues,” county Spokesperson Shawn Perry-Turner told the Sandoval Signpost. “The company has not yet made any announcement.”