Fairbanks Morse Launches Training and Service Center in Chesapeake

Fairbanks Morse Defense (FMD), a portfolio company of Arcline Investment Management, is launching a 45,000-square-foot training and service center campus in Chesapeake, Va. The defense contractor will move its existing service center from Norfolk, Va., to the Chesapeake campus to add a state-of-the-art training facility and further expand advanced service support for its customers. The move represents a $13 million investment in the community.

“We are excited to have Fairbanks Morse Defense as the newest member of our business community,” said Rick West, Mayor of Chesapeake. “The Hampton Roads region has a long and storied history in the defense industry and having Fairbanks Morse Defense locate its new state-of-the-art facility in the City of Chesapeake underscores the City’s commitment to our military and its partners. We look forward to working with Fairbanks Morse Defense as it continues to grow in Chesapeake.”

FMD’s new training and service center campus, located at 733 Curtis Saunders Court, is near Norfolk, Va., the largest U.S. Navy and Military Sealift Command fleet concentration in the U.S. The U.S. Coast Guard also has a strong presence in the area.

“Training is the forefront of good maintenance practices, and Fairbanks Morse Defense’s training center is incorporating our cutting-edge mixed reality training technology to provide the most comprehensive, interactive marine equipment training solution available,” said Jamie McMullin, FMD President of Services. “This location will strengthen FMD’s position as the preferred service solutions and training provider for our core customers while enhancing our rigorous Factory Certified Training programs for our large network of field service technicians.”

FMD’s Chesapeake Training and Service Center will include 13,000 square feet of training center shop space, including four fully dressed workstations featuring four different FMD engines for students to pull apart and reassemble, in addition to dedicated training available on all FMD products; as well as 20,000 square feet of service center space, providing local and responsive full-service capabilities that include equipment overhauls and repairs as well as unit exchange solutions for rapid turnaround. It will also feature 6,000 square feet for training center offices, classrooms, break rooms and conference space, plus 6,000 square feet for service center offices, a tech library, a service center classroom and break rooms.

The site also provides room for growth, allowing FMD and its expanded family of brands to utilize additional space as the company integrates new turnkey products, service solutions, and training programs into the training and service center offerings, the company said.

Upon completion in 2023, the site will create approximately 50 new jobs.