A military information technology and engineering services company is considering locating a facility in Orangeburg.

Orangeburg County Development Commission officials say that Eagan, McAllister Associates, Inc. is looking to locate in the former 100,000-square-foot Southern Warehouse and Distribution Company facility at the Orangeburg County Industrial Park off of U.S. 21.

OCDC Executive Director Gregg Robinson said the deal is not finalized and could not comment on any investment, jobs or what EMA will be manufacturing at its Orangeburg facility except to note that the company will most likely move into the building before year's end and will be creating a product in 2008.

EMA's Web site says the company provides IT, engineering and program management services for the Department of Defense and other government agencies.

Robinson said the local project, which has been code-named "Project Protection," still has to work out some issues related to covenants and restrictions. The building has about seven acres adjacent to it, Robinson said.

"It is a work in progress," Robinson said, explaining that there are also a number of security issues related to the project. "It is a very sensitive project that has the highest levels of security clearance."

Recent news reports suggest that the facility would support to the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command Systems Center in Charleston.

During a Nov. 8 hearing of the House Armed Services Committee, U.S. lawmakers said the Charleston Naval warfare center is being used to install radio jammers and communications systems on mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicles. Efforts are bogged down by production delays and demands of the military services.

Some lawmakers also expressed concerns that a single coastal city location for the production of such equipment could be vulnerable to a natural disaster.

The comment prompted Navy Captain Red Hoover, commander of the Charleston center, to note that the Orangeburg facility would be available in the event of an emergency.

Congress reported that the Pentagon's $23 billion program to rush thousands of these vehicles to Iraq has been delayed.

An estimated 15,274 MRAP's were to be built, though lawmakers said each branch of the armed services has its own unique gear it wants installed. The variety of models has slowed the integration process at the Charleston facility, some lawmakers have said.

U.S. Defense Department officials have defended the use of the Charleston facility, which is expected to handle 50 MRAP installations a day by mid-December.

Robinson said the building being considered by the company has had a lot of interest over the last four months.

"The building drove the company to consider our location," he said. EMA's interest shows why it is critical for the county to have building space available at all times, he said.

He said currently the county has about 10 million square feet of industrial-distribution space under roof, with only about 2 percent remaining.

"I wish I had more buildings just like that building," he said.

Robinson said Southern Warehouse closed its doors about a month ago due to a family decision to divest itself of industrial properties.

Southern Warehouse and Distribution arrived to Orangeburg in March 2000 and constructed the 100,000-square-foot facility. The building was used for the storage, packaging and distribution of plastic pellets. According to the OCDC's updated list of county industries, the company employed about five.

Headquartered out of Lexington Park, MD., EMA has 12 locations in four U.S. states -- South Carolina, Maryland, Arizona and Virginia. All of its five South Carolina locations are near Charleston.

EMA began its operations in 1984 with one contract and two employees, co-founders Rex Eagan and John McAllister, in one small office in Lexington Park, Md.

Through the mid 1980s, EMA provided engineering, management and logistics support for defense programs including carrier air traffic control and landing systems, tactical aircrew combat training systems, shipboard datalinks, computer security and command, control, communications, computers and intelligence.

EMA currently employs about 1,541 with annual revenues of $167 million, and a continued average annual growth rate of more than 28 percent.

In December 2003, EMA was acquired by AMSEC LLC. AMSEC LLC was formed in June 1999 as a business partnership between Science Applications International Corporation and Newport News Shipbuilding. In July 2007, EMA became a wholly-owned subsidiary of SAIC and ended its partnership with AMSEC.

The company is considered an industry leader in the U.S. Department of Defense's annual list of top Navy contractors.

T&D Staff Writer Gene Zaleski can be reached by e-mail at gzaleski@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5551. Discuss this and other stories at TheTandD.com.

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