An engineering firm that makes aviation safety systems for the U.S. military and other customers is opening a facility in Bangor.
The firm, R Cubed Engineering, has purchased a building at 1178 Hammond St. that was previously occupied by Sullivan Tire.
The Bangor facility will support the company’s work on positive combat identification technology, which are systems that help manned aircraft or unmanned vehicles like drones identify friendly or unfriendly forces, according to the announcement. Company leaders and economic development officials in Maine linked the firm’s expansion to a growing technology sector in the state.
R Cubed, which stands for “relationships, resources, results,” focuses on developing aircraft equipment — such as transponders and receivers, among others — to be smaller and less expensive, according to founder and CEO RaNae Contarino.
The firm has contracted extensively with the U.S. government, including NASA, the U.S. Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force, according to COO Mark Contarino, who is RaNae Contarino’s son.
R Cubed leaders decided they needed to expand after outgrowing their facility in Palmetto, Florida, according to Chief of Staff Stephen Boyes.
“We have a 27-foot-wingspan drone right now in our office,” Mark Contarino said. “We need space.”
Boyes’ family moved to Maine last year when his wife got a job at Colby College.
“After I got up to Maine, and we started doing some digging into what Maine had to offer, it became clear that we really wanted to have a larger footprint in Maine,” Boyes said, noting that the firm chose Bangor for its proximity to an airport and a university system, its quality of life and affordability compared with other metro areas, and the state’s natural beauty and growing role as an aerospace hub.
The company has been in touch with both city and state officials about the new facility.
“The City of Bangor was honored to work alongside Maine & Company and the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development to identify the ideal facility for R Cubed’s expansion and the launch of its first new division,” Bangor Community and Economic Development Director Anne Krieg said in the company’s announcement.
The firm employs 12 people, according to Mark Contarino. It plans to add at least four to six new employees as part of the expansion to Maine, RaNae Contarino said.
Company leaders hope to establish a partnership with the University of Maine’s engineering program and host summer interns, Mark Contarino said, after they renovate the new space this spring.
“We’ve got a great feeling that we can build a great network in Bangor and thrive,” he said.
