654853719 956476960237641 184907875699984449 N — The ribbon-cutting event for Hadrian (Sen. Katie Britt)

A celebration was held in Cherokee on Friday, signaling the official opening of a new U.S. Navy facility.

The 2.2-million-square-foot facility by Hadrian is expected to boost production of nuclear submarines.

The contract with the Navy is structured as a public-private partnership combining more than $1.5 billion in private capital with $900 million in government funding through Navy appropriations, for a total investment of more than $2.4 billion.

“Both chambers of Congress delivered the generational investment required to rebuild our shipbuilding capacity, bring those jobs back to Alabama and put American skilled laborers back at the center of American strength. I look forward to building on this progress together in the months ahead, because we are just getting started. This factory is the first of three facilities designed to address the most critical bottlenecks in the maritime industrial base.”
John C. Phelan, Secretary of the Navy

Factory 4 in Cherokee

The facility is at the home of what used to be the largest railcar manufacturing facility in the country. Work will continue on other parts of the facility over the next few months.

The “Factory 4” project is expected to bring thousands of manufacturing jobs to the area. It is estimated to take 18-24 months from initiation to full-rate production which will include:

Stand-up of automated production facilities
Qualification of components
Compliance qualifications like submarine safety program (SUBSAFE)
Low-rate initial production

By the third year, the facilities are expected to operate sustainably through delivery of submarine product lines.

“This is just the beginning. As current events show, America needs sea power more than ever – Alabama is up to the challenge and we will build a 21st century collaborative campus here that no conventional shipyard or industrial park can rival.”
Robert Aderholt, U.S. Representative

Cherokee is now home to the first large-scale inland advanced manufacturing facility dedicated to the U.S. maritime industrial base.

“The Administration has set the strategy, Congress has cleared a path, the Navy has set the requirement, and Secretary Phelan has been unambiguous that private-sector partnership is foundational, not optional, to deter threats to national security. Industry has to answer that call with real execution, and the window to do it is now. We are proud to be part of the coalition building that capacity, and this factory is Hadrian’s commitment to meeting this moment.”
Chris Power, Founder and CEO of Hadrian