Sarcos, Moog bringing 400-plus high-paying manufacturing jobs

By Brice Wallace

Utah will see its advanced manufacturing and assembly sector grow by more than 400 jobs over the next few years, with expansion projects announced by Sarcos Robotics and Moog Inc.

Sarcos plans to add up to 292 jobs and Moog will add 120. The companies announced their growth plans after being approved for tax credit incentives by the Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) board.{mprestriction ids="1,3"}

“These are really all high-paying jobs. … They may not be the biggest incentives we’ve ever given, but I think they are two of the most important,” said Mel Lavitt, chairman of the GOED board’s incentives committee.

Created in 1983 as a spin-out from the University of Utah and currently with 82 employees in Research Park, Salt Lake City-based Sarcos designs, develops and deploys energetically autonomous, highly mobile and dexterous robots used in the manufacturing, oil and gas, construction, transportation, mining, infrastructure, inspection, healthcare, public safety and defense sectors.

Sarcos products have been used for animatronics and for the fountain at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas. The company currently is focused on commercializing three autonomous, highly mobile and dexterous robot products aimed at saving lives, reducing injury and improving productivity. The Guardian S is a surveillance and inspection robot. The Guardian GT is a large-scale robot mounted on a vehicle. The Guardian XO is an exoskeleton to enhance human productivity while keeping workers safe. One version of the Guardian XO is able to lift and support up to 200 pounds for eight hours without fatigue or strain, with the human operator bearing none of the load of the exoskeleton or its payload.

“Sarcos is growing rapidly. We’ve doubled our workforce in the last year as we realize our vision of delivering robotic systems that simultaneously reduce the risk of workplace injuries while also increasing productivity and efficiency,” Ben Wolff, CEO and chairman, said in a prepared statement. “The GOED award will support our continued growth of our team in Utah and address the unmet global demand for robotic systems that create the safest, most productive workforce possible.”

The Sarcos incentive of up to $1.23 million is tied to the creation of 292 jobs (paying an average of $70,000 annually) over the next five years. The $2.4 million expansion project is expected to generate total wages during that time of about $58.6 million, with new state tax revenues projected at nearly $6.2 million.

Thomas Wadsworth, GOED’s business development and corporate incentives manager, said the new jobs will include executives and employees involved in production, assembly and support services.

“As Mel said, it’s not one of the largest incentives we’ve ever done, but it checks all the boxes in terms of a good mix of employees,” Wadsworth said. “We’re really excited that this company, bringing their reputation and that cachet with them here in Utah, will continue to grow.”

Board member Ted Wilson described Sarcos as a great example of a company advancing from education to incubation to growth. “I don’t know how you could have a more presentable company in terms of the Utah success,” Wilson said. “[It’s] a nice chain of events.”

From 2007-14, Sarcos operated as the robotics division of Raytheon known as Raytheon Sarcos and was focused on developing technologies for use by U.S. government agencies. In January 2015, a group led by President Fraser Smith acquired the company. At that time, it had 13 employees.

“Sarcos is one of Utah’s leading innovative companies,” said Val Hale, GOED executive director. “This Utah company has created wonderful robotics at the University of Utah Research Park and we are excited to see where this expansion takes them.” 

“It’s always exciting to see companies grow in Utah, but it’s especially exciting when those companies are like Sarcos, with such strong historical ties to the state and our universities,” said Theresa Foxley, CEO of the Economic Development Corporation of Utah. “The company’s innovative robotics technology is accelerating progress across a diverse set of industries. We look forward to seeing the similarly transformative impact of an expanded Sarcos presence on our Utah communities.”

Moog’s $2.33 million expansion is expected to take longer. The 120 jobs will be created over 10 years at its West Valley City operations, which currently has about 400 employees.

Founded in 1951 and based in New York state, the company designs, manufactures and integrates precision motion and fluid controls and systems for a range of applications in aerospace and defense, industrial and medical markets. Moog currently has more than 11,000 employees worldwide in five operating segments: aircraft controls, space and defense controls, industrial systems, components and medical devices. Its U.S. manufacturing facilities are in Utah and eight other states, plus eight foreign countries.

“We are excited about this new product and to be hiring additional talented personnel in Utah,” Jon Liddle, director of Moog defense sector operations and supply chain, said in a prepared statement. “The support from the governor’s office for these high-tech manufacturing jobs was key to making the decision to grow in Utah.”

The jobs created through the incentive will focus on the assembly and testing of a new turreted weapon system called the Reconfigurable Integrated-weapons Platform (RIwP). The turret can be loaded from inside a tank and can be used on other vehicles as well.

The new jobs are expected to have an average annual pay of $94,449.

“As Mel alluded to on the other project, [it’s] not our largest incentive, but 120 high-paying manufacturing jobs is extremely significant to this market right now,” Wadsworth said.

The incentive of up to $980,754 is based on new total wages of $73.8 million over 10 years and new state tax revenue of $4.9 million during that time.

“Moog is a leader in the aerospace and defense industry,” Hale said. “With over 60 years of experience, Moog’s expansion will be a great benefit to our state and we look forward to their success.”

“Moog’s expansion in Utah is one more example of our state’s compatibility with the aerospace and defense industries,” Foxley said. “We’re excited to see them grow in Utah and are thankful for their continued investment here.”{/mprestriction}