Ribbon-cutting for Madison Heights' Navistar Defense

The military branch of a Warrenville, Ill.-based trucking company celebrated its new move to Madison Heights with a ribbon-cutting event at its new headquarters, a 90,550-square-foot facility at 1675 E. Whitcomb.

Navistar Defense builds a variety of products, but the company is best known for its innovative MaxxPro Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles, which are designed to deflect roadside bomb blasts away from troops. They currently have over 30,000 military vehicles on the ground in 26 different countries.

Could there be a defense corridor springing up in Madison Heights? Linda Williams, the city's economic development coordinator, sees some possibilities.

Excerpt:

And there's another way Navistar Defense factors into the city's big picture. Williams is arranging for other industrial companies in Madison Heights that have overlap in the defense sector, such as DRS and Radian Precision, to meet with Navistar's senior management and see if there's any deal-making synergy to be had.

"We're planning it for mid-April or so, and it's been very well-received by our existing companies," Williams said. "Hopefully, we can build on this defense zone or defense corridor. We want to build on that."

Read the whole story here.