Last updated: May 30, 2008

This page provides background information about Raytheon’s presence in St. Petersburg as well as key historical site issues as they apply to the environmental conditions at the Raytheon site at 1501 72nd Street North in St. Petersburg, Fla.

Raytheon in St. Petersburg

Raytheon Network Centric Systems has several facilities in Florida, with a large presence in the St. Petersburg and Largo areas, and a small presence in Orlando.

Raytheon has been a proud member of the St. Petersburg community since April 1995 when the company acquired E-Systems. With this purchase, we acquired two facilities – one at 1501 72nd Street North (504,000 sq. ft.) and one at 7401 22nd Ave. North (80,000 sq. ft.). Our employees at these facilities take great pride in the defense products and systems they are providing for our nation.

In 1999, Raytheon expanded its Florida presence when it consolidated manufacturing from its larger site in St. Petersburg and from around the country to a newly-renovated space in the STAR Center at 7888 Bryan Dairy Road. This would become a manufacturing center for assembly, integration and testing.

In 2007, Raytheon again demonstrated its commitment to this area by moving part of its St. Petersburg operation to a recently renovated facility at 8333 Bryan Dairy Road. This move will be completed in 2008.

Major Employer in Area

Today, Raytheon is among the top 15 employers in the St. Petersburg/Largo area and has an annual payroll of over $110 million. Between the tax base and support of other contractors in the area, the economic impact is substantial.

Of the 1,600 jobs Raytheon provides, approximately 700 of them are engineering positions. There are also 400 professional support positions in program management, supply chain, finance, human resources, security, and other areas as well. Approximately 500 are manufacturing jobs based in Largo.

Raytheon employees in Florida provide secure communications products and systems, capabilities around information assurance, security solutions, and networking systems expertise. We build complex products like cable harnesses, secure radios and networking systems. Customers include the branches of the U.S. Military, government agencies, and foreign allies.

Community Involvement

Raytheon and its employees maintain a large and visible presence in the community. The company makes large donations each year in support of the Pinellas Education Foundation, FIRST Robotics and Junior Achievement. We are members of the local Chamber of Commerce, NAACP and Urban League. Leaders and employees alike serve on numerous boards and generously give of their time to mentor students, excite youth about math and science, clean-up coastal wetlands, and serve the community in many other ways that add up to thousands of volunteer hours a year.

Raytheon also has a partnership with the Tampa Bay Rays and sponsors an area at the ballpark for military families to attend every home game. We partner with the Rays to promote Raytheon’s MathMovesU program to local middle school students. This partnership recently infused $50,000 in scholarship and matching school grants for local students.

St. Petersburg Environmental Timeline

A brief history of the site ownership:
1955 - Futronics Toy Company
1958 - Air Associates
1976 - E-Systems
1995 - Raytheon

A common feature of current and prior site operations includes the manufacturing of electronic equipment.

A summary of some of the pertinent regulatory history of the site is as follows:

Raytheon is conducting and is expected to release an updated Human Health Risk Assessment based on current data.