Decatur, AL – Alabama Governor Bob Riley, U.S. Congressman-elect Parker Griffith, Department of Postsecondary Education Chancellor Bradley Byrne, Alabama State Board of Education Member Mary Jane Caylor, Calhoun Community College President Marilyn Beck, and Alabama Industrial Development Training (AIDT) Director Ed Castile were among the 200+ business leaders, elected officials and community citizens on-hand to participate in  today’s  groundbreaking ceremony for the state’s new Robotics Technology Park to be located off Highway 31 North across from Calhoun’s Decatur campus. 

The selection of Calhoun as the site for the new robotics park and plans for its construction were announced earlier this year by Governor Riley.  The Park is a collaboration among the state of Alabama, the two-year college system, AIDT, and robotics industry leaders.  Plans call for the three-building campus to be built on a 53-acre site across from Calhoun’s Decatur campus.

The robotics campus will consist of three individual training facilities each targeted to a specific industry need.  Phase 1: The Robotics Maintenance Training Center will house an industry training program.  Scheduled to be completed within the next 18 months, the 40,000 square foot facility will be staffed by trainers supplied by top robot builders.  The building will be home to several major robotics and automation brands and each will have a significant space for training and product demonstration. Plans are for 450 people to be trained at the facility each year.

The second phase, the Advanced Technology Research and Development Center, will be used by NASA and the U.S. Army Missile Command for the purpose of research, development and testing of leading edge robotics used for military projects and space exploration.  The structure will have appropriate infrastructure to support these activities with substantial outdoor areas for testing in a variety of environments.

Phase 3, the Integration and Entrepreneurial Center, is expected to be a collaborative consolidation of technology involving higher education and industry and will allow companies to build and adapt robots for new industries.  Start up plants will be able to set up manufacturing lines to integrate software and equipment, test systems and train maintenance and production staff. 

All three buildings will have an investment of approximately $71 million including robotics equipment.

 “This (Park) will make Alabama the nation’s leader in robotics research and development.  It will make Alabama the national leader in robotics technology education.  The benefits will be remarkable for our economy, for our workforce and for our future,” commented Governor Riley.

In choosing Calhoun as the site for the robotics complex, the Governor stressed it met all the needed requirements, including proximity to Huntsville.  “Our vision from the beginning was a state-of-the-art robotics campus affiliated with a two-year college that is close to Huntsville’s aerospace research hub and easily accessible to our manufacturing industries.  Calhoun Community College is a perfect fit for what we envisioned,” he said.

Coverage of this release:

• Robotics center all that and a whole lot more, The Decatur Daily, Friday, December 12, 2008 issue, p.A5
• Riley breaks ground at Calhoun robotics center, The Decatur Daily, Thursday, December 11, 2008 issue, p.B6
• Riley: Robotics 'next level' Governor helps break ground for Training Center at Calhoun, The Athens News-Courier, Thursday, December 11, 2008 issue, p.A1
• Let the robotics begin: 'Historic day' for area as governor, others break ground for Calhoun technology park, The Decatur Daily, Thursday, December 11, 2008 issue, p.A1
• WAFF, Channel 48, Huntsville, AL, Wednesday, December 10, 2008, 6:00 & 10:00 newscasts
• WHNT-TV Channel 19, Huntsville, AL, Wednesday, December 10, 2008, 6:00 & 10:00 newscasts
• WAAY TV Channel 31, Huntsville, AL, Wednesday, December 10, 2008, 6:00 & 10:00 newscasts
• FOX 54 TV Channel, Huntsville, AL, Wednesday, December 10, 2008, 9:00 p.m. newscast