CAZENOVIA, N.Y. — BAE Systems has awarded Knowles Precision Devices in Cazenovia a multimillion dollar contract to produce filters to support the F-35 joint strike fighter (JSF) program of the U.S. Department of Defense.
With this contract, Knowles Precision Devices expects to hire more than 30 new employees, a company spokesperson tells BJNN. The firm currently has 311 employees at its Cazenovia location.
The company will hire for positions in engineering and manufacturing in order to support the demands of the project, per the company’s news release.
Knowles Precision Devices is a division of Itasca, Illinois–based Knowles Corporation (NYSE: KN). It is a manufacturer of “high-performance” specialty components, capacitors and microwave products.
Headquartered in Arlington, Va., BAE Systems, Inc. is the U.S. subsidiary of BAE Systems plc, a global defense, security and aerospace company. It operates a location in Endicott.
Under the contract, the local company will manufacture filters for use in electronic-warfare products. Production of the filters will take place at Knowles Precision Devices’ manufacturing facility in Cazenovia over a 21-month period, which started in August and continue through April 2021.
“Receiving this contract from BAE Systems shows that our filters are valued and trusted in the industry to support and improve the overall performance of the JSF program,” Tim Brauner, product manager at Knowles Precision Devices, said in the news release. “Our involvement in this project proves that manufacturing in Central New York is still possible with innovation and engineering prowess, and enables us to continue to grow as a company. It will require us to expand our operations and significantly increase the daily volume of product produced at the Cazenovia facility, which is why we’re looking to add to our team.”
Under its dielectric laboratories (DLI) sub-brand, Knowles Precision Devices’ microwave technologies leverage “unique” dielectric materials, while integrating ceramic expertise and thin film manufacturing, in order to offer improved size and performance characteristics that help overcome critical challenges in the defense industry.
The company also creates products for use in applications in 5G, medical and electric-vehicle market segments.
Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com
