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PAGE 8 â€" WATERLOO CHRONICLE, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 19, 1984 Canada‘s Secretary of State Walter McLean tried his hand at operating a backhoe Monday, to perform the official sodâ€"turning ceremony marking Raytheon‘s plant eXPaNSION. Mesoges Martinuk photo l whr whe whe hr se e o e ce e ow e ce h h h h ie e e e t t ##K*AKAKkKkAtttt * t t *# * * *k * *# * * & TURTLENECKS 99 corner 115 Bridgeport Rd. E. at Weber Come in and see us soon Now Open 6 Days A Week SPORTSWEAR FACTORY OUTLET Please someone special by choosing from our large selection of men‘s and ladies‘ New â€" Mon.â€"Fri. 10â€"5 Hours: Saturday 9â€"3 ONLY 6 Chronicle Staft Growth at Raytheon Canada in Waterioo is starting to take off, largely due to the company‘s success this summer in winning a $390â€"million federal government contract to replace radar equipment in airports across the country. Company officials announced Monday the start of a 28,000â€"squareâ€"foot expansion to its Phillip Street facility, to gain muchâ€"needed manufacturing space. When combined with a 7,000â€"squareâ€"foot addiâ€" tion completed earlier this year, Raytheon has increased its plant capacity by more than 40 per cent. Construction cost is estimated to be in excess of $2 million. In an address during ceremonies to mark the occasion, Raytheon Canada chairman R.G. Shelly stressed that the construction is only the ‘"most visible" of activities now underway at Raytheon, and it is equalled by growth in the company‘s workforce and sales figures. He noted that in the first quarter of 1984, Raytheon‘s Waterioo operation employed 262 people. ‘"Today we have a staff of 480, and plan to grow to over 600 by this time next year," he said. Shelly also predicted that company sales of $35 million this year, will increase to more than $130 million in 1989. Company president John Stewart offered even a longer term view of Raytheon‘s future growth as a result of the Radar Modernization Project, RAMP. He called this initial expansion "a significant step to realizing our full potential as a major player in the world of air traffic control systems marketplace." © *"The technological impact of the RAMP project has been to give Raytheon Canada a complete air traffic control radar systems capability. We can now bid on, and win, a country‘s complete air traffic control system. That means high technology exports for Canada, and that‘s good business," Stewart said. *"*By 1993 we expect our employee population to exceed 2,200 and engineering and manufacâ€" turing space to reach about (500,000) square feet, as we grow and take on more work. The world market for our products now exceeds more than $450 million in the next three years alone, and we mean to capture a major share of that business." RAMP, awarded to Raytheon in May of this year, will mean the complete replacement of tribute to faith and determination Raytheon ‘Change in plans‘ nixes commitment Canada‘s civil air traffic control network at 41 sites across Canada. The first equipment will be installed in 1988, with final delivery scheduled for 1992. *‘*But the RAMP award to Raytheon promises more than the production of new hardware," said Shelly. "It is a statement of faith and a show of determination on the part of the government that Canada intends to remain in command of its own destiny in important areas of technology,"‘ Shelly remarked. Raytheon Canada, Waterloo was founded in 1956 to build and install an air traffic control radar system in Canada. According to Shelly, "that system provided this country with the world‘s first radarâ€"based air traffic control system, and placed Canada at the forefront of nations in the application of electronic technoloâ€" gy to transportation.‘" Modernization through RAMP, he said, will once again move Canada to leadership in that field. A. change in plans means that Waterioo Manufacturing won‘t be building in the Dearâ€" born industrial park after all. Waterloo Business Development Director, Gerry O‘Neil told council Monday that because of internal restructuring the company, Waterâ€" loo‘s oldest, had asked to be released from its offer to purchase a 1.5â€"acre lot in the new industrial subdivision. Waterloo Manufacturing‘s decision doesn‘t pose serious problems for the city, however, because O‘Neil doesn‘t anticipate any difficulty selling the land to another business. Council agreed to the company‘s request and decided to return its $9,000 deposit, minus any legal or other fees resulting from contract negotiations so far. Initial plans had called for the construction of a minimum 6,534â€"squareâ€"foot building. ‘"‘We can sell the land â€" we have enough interest in the land that it won‘t be on our hands too long," he said.