Company adds jobs, innovation to area

BEAVERCREEK, Ohio (WDTN) - You wouldn't know it by looking at the building's plain brick exterior, but what happens inside is on the cutting edge of technology.

"We're building systems that are hopefully saving lives of troops on the ground in Afghanistan and various other conflicts," says SAIC's Dennis Andersh.

The company's name, Science Applications International Corporation, is almost as complicated as what it's doing.

Much of the work is through Defense Department contracts, hence the secrecy.

But one of the big things it's working on is Unmanned Aerial Vehicles or UAV's, which could have a role beyond defending our country.

"It could range anywhere from agriculture monitoring to power line monitoring to defense monitoring," Andersh says.

But while the future of UAV's is still up in the air, what is certain is that by opening its new facility in Beavercreek, SAIC has already added 100 jobs and could add 150 more in the near future.

"We're making progress and it takes commitments like this to make us all be successful in this state," says Ohio Lt. Governor Mary Taylor.

Taylor was on hand for the ribbon cutting of SAIC's new facility on Thursday.

She says companies like SAIC are helping the state's recovery but that we're not in the clear just yet.

"We feel good about where we are but you always feel cautious about the future," Taylor says.

But whatever the future holds, the area's success is now somewhat tied to new technologies like the UAV's.

Area leaders are still working to get permission to fly them in local airspace, something that could be a big help to SAIC and the Miami Valley.

"It's progressing pretty well but there's still a lot of hard work to be done," Andersh says.

To apply for one of the jobs available at SAIC click here .