Abaco Systems, an Alabama-based weapons manufacturer evolved from a division of General Electric, has moved 300 of its Alabama workers into a new headquarters in Redstone Gateway, the corporate complex at the entrance to the Army’s Redstone Arsenal.
Abaco, whose primary products are “ruggedized” computer equipment designed to endure the stress of combat, says the new facilities will allow the company to expand manufacturing capacity, will introduce a new Engineering Innovation Center and will “respond to growing customer demand for shorter lead times as defense technology programs come under increasing pressure to move from conception to deployment more rapidly.”
Customers include major defense contractors and advanced weapons developers, including Boeing, DRS, Georgia Tech Research Institute, L-3, Leonardo, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Raytheon.
“Increased demand for electronics content to power contemporary platforms is driving significant growth at Abaco,” said Rich Sorelle, president and CEO. “Our expertise in areas such as modular, open-standards architectures; rugged reliability and advanced thermal management; artificial intelligence, machine learning and autonomy; software tools; high performance video and graphics; and advanced, secure networking has earned us positions on national asset platforms. Our new Engineering Innovation Center will accelerate these efforts and bring more value to our customers.”
Abaco, which previously had its headquarters on Memorial Parkway in Huntsville, employs 700 workers worldwide. It was formed from assets that were bought by Veritas Capital in 2015 from GE Intelligent Platforms.
Redstone Gateway is a 470-acre master-planned business park designed to be home to government contractors. Construction began in 2011, the first phase was completed in 2019, and tenants include workers for the Army, NASA, Marshall Space Flight Center and Boeing Co.
