Troy Mayor Jason Reeves is more than excited about the opening of a 62,000-square-foot annex at the Lockheed Martin Pike County Operations site.

“Any time Lockheed adds capacity, it not only means jobs and economic impact for the community, but it also means safety for our community and communities all over,” Reeves said. “Lockheed plays a critical part in the defense industry.”

Lockheed Martin spent approximately $16.8 million to build the annex and a greater amount of money to furnish the building. Pike County Site Director Dave Anderson said the Pike County site would begin to see a return on the investments as early as October, meaning the upcoming fiscal year will be impacted greatly by the operations. Director for the Strike Systems Alan Jackson said a large segment of the cruise missile production was at the Pike County Operations facility, and that the company is excited to see the program continue to expand, develop and adapt to the ever-changing needs of the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy and international partners.

More than the expansion of a business, Reeves said he was to see Troy faces in the crowd Wednesday at the facility’s ribbon cutting. Reeves said the company’s commitment to the community has been reassuring to him not only as mayor but also as a member of the community.

“At the ribbon cutting I could look out on the crowd and see people I see at church, at the ball field and just around town,” Reeves said. “These are people that I have grown up with. These people have been able to spend their entire life here in Troy and wonderful people have been brought to the community by Lockheed. This is really important for a community when you have high paying jobs that serve a very important purpose. It’s important to the local economy and it’s important to the nation.”

Reeves went on to praise the team at Lockheed including Anderson.

“Everything that they can add and can do for us is important to this community and they are committed long term to the facility here,” Reeves said. “They have a great appreciation for the work force and its ability, and that speaks well for our community and their commitment to us.”

Anderson announced the addition of 75 jobs to the Pike County Operations workforce on Wednesday, a year and a half ahead of schedule. But, Reeves said he wasn’t surprised.

“I’ve felt like they were going to be aggressive on that timeline,” Reeves said. “They try to be conservative in a lot of those estimates, and they’ve worked hard. We’re expecting big things in the future. Everything we’ve seen is that they believe in the workforce here and they can do great quality work and exceptional quantity of work and they can do it in a very reasonable cost.”

Reeves said that is was reassuring to know the company had invested so much into the Troy community and hoped to continue the long-standing partnership for many years down the road.

“Companies like Lockheed make you want to get more business here,” Reeves said. “They are an excellent corporate partner and an excellent community partner. We appreciate the relationship and look forward to continuing it for many years to come.”