“We appreciate the commonwealth’s support of the value Armstrong brings to the economy as a manufacturer and employer,” Armstrong President and CEO Michael Lockhart said. “We look forward to continued success as a Pennsylvania-based company.”

Lancaster, Pa.-based Armstrong World Industries Inc., which designs and manufactures floors, ceilings and cabinets, operates 37 plants in nine countries and has approximately 11,200 employees worldwide. Armstrong’s cabinet division, manufactures kitchen and bath cabinets.

The company’s project was coordinated through the Governor’s Action Team, which is made up of economic development professionals who serve as a single point-of-contact for businesses that are considering locating or expanding in the state. Pennsylvania is providing the company with a $1.15 million funding program that includes an $800,000 opportunity grant and $350,000 in job training assistance.

The state’s offer is contingent on the funding available to these programs in the commonwealth’s final enacted budget.

Orbit International Expanding

In other Pennsylvania economic development news, Orbit International Corp., a Hauppauge, N.Y.-based manufacturer of customized electronic components and subsystems for military and nonmilitary government applications, announced that its Tulip Development Laboratory Inc. (TDL) subsidiary has completed its move to a 50,000-square-foot facility in Quakertown, Pa.

The larger facility has the capacity to accommodate high-quantity, multi-year production programs, according to the company.

"We have been working with a number of prime contractors, supporting prototype and pre-production display opportunities that would require additional space and support personnel if and when these programs progress into full production,” said David Gutman, president of TDL. “Several of these prime contractors have already received our prototype and pre-production displays and are in the process of completing qualification testing. A majority of these new program opportunities required a commitment by our management to our prime defense electronics customers that accelerated delivery schedules could be met without production capacity-driven disruptions.”