VK Integrated Systems (VKIS) announced Friday that the company will invest $840,000 to relocate its manufacturing operations from Fullerton, California, to Clarksville, Tennessee, by breaking ground on the new manufacturing site in Montgomery County.
Through the project, VKIS’ manufacturing sector will join the company’s headquarters and research and development operations, which were relocated to Tennessee in 2019.
“Tennessee offers companies an unmatched business climate and highly skilled workforce,” Tennessee Governor Bill Lee said in a statement. “Montgomery County is the ideal location for VK Integrated Systems’ manufacturing operations, and I thank this company for its commitment to job creation in Tennessee.”
.@VKIntSys will invest nearly $850,000 to relocate operations from California to Tennessee.
Through this project, VKIS’ manufacturing sector will join the company’s HQ and research and development operations, which were relocated to Tennessee in 2019. https://t.co/Rrga1zlMfS pic.twitter.com/JvW1VTdJ6R
— TNECD (@TNECD) July 8, 2022
The company specializes in research and development in three areas: sensor technology, weapon systems and energetics. VKIS also focuses on the manufacturing of hardware, software and supporting architecture for handheld weapons systems. The company has been manufacturing, assembling, programming, firing and delivering data from rifles with integrated systems since its founding in 2014. According to their website, VKIS’ vision is to “produce products that increase global security and save American lives.”
“VK Integrated Systems is excited to further our expansion into Middle Tennessee and grow deeper roots in Clarksville and Montgomery County communities,” Vasilios Kapogianis, president of VK Integrated Systems, said in a statement. “As a values-based company, we look forward to contributing to the growth of industry and strengthening the local economy with American-made goods.”
VKIS will create 34 new jobs as the company completes construction on a new facility at 40 International Blvd. in the Corporate Business Park, according to a press release by the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development (TNECD).
“We are proud to add VK Integrated Systems to our state’s growing roster of California companies choosing to relocate their headquarters and expand their manufacturing facilities in Tennessee,” TNECD Commissioner Bob Rolfe said in a statement. “As a weapons systems manufacturer, this company’s investment in Clarksville will further strengthen the advanced manufacturing footprint in Northern Middle Tennessee while also boosting the quality of life experienced in Montgomery County.”
VKIS is following the lead of many companies relocating from California. As previously reported by The Tennessee Star, research released in 2021 by The Hoover Institution at Stanford University showed Tennessee as the second most popular destination for companies fleeing California.
– – –
Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network.
Photo “VK Integrated Systems” by TNECD.
