Shaheen Tours NH Manufacturing Facilities Ahead of Bipartisan Congressional Delegation to Paris Air Show with NH Defense Manufacturers

Left to right: Shaheen tours Albany Engineered Composites in Rochester; Shaheen meets with employees at VIBRAC LLC Precision Test Systems in Manchester. 

(Washington, DC) - Today, U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, toured three New Hampshire defense manufacturing facilities and met with the companies’ leadership. The visits came ahead of Shaheen co-leading a bipartisan congressional delegation visit to the Paris Air Show. The New Hampshire companies Shaheen met with will also attend the Air Show later this month, representing Granite State and American manufacturing on the international stage.

“Some of the most important development and manufacturing of defense and commercial technology is happening right here in New Hampshire. The innovation happening in the Granite State is making an impact across the world,” said Shaheen. “I am grateful to Albany Engineered Composites,  VIBRAC and Mercury Systems, Inc. for guiding me around their facilities and explaining the impact of their cutting-edge capabilities. I look forward to joining them in Paris as they showcase their companies on the international stage. I will continue to do everything in my power to ensure all New Hampshire manufacturers receive the support they need to out innovate and out-build our competitors around the globe.”

Shaheen began the day in Rochester with a visit to Albany Engineered Composites (AEC), where she met with members of AEC’s leadership team and employees to receive an update on projects underway at the facility. Brent Stevenson, Vice President of Engineering and Technology, and Michael Dill, Senior Vice President of Customers and Marketing, spoke with Shaheen about the work AEC does at their Rochester facility. AEC designs and manufactures advanced engineered composite components for engine and airframe applications for commercial and military aircraft, missiles and unmanned vehicles, and for renewable energy creation and distribution. AEC will be exhibiting at the Paris Air Show.

Shaheen’s second visit was at VIBRAC LLC Precision Test Systems, where she toured the manufacturing plant and spoke with leadership and employees about their current projects. VIBRAC manufactures a broad range of automated and manual precision testing systems for both commercial and defense applications. VIBRAC will be exhibiting at the Paris Air Show by way of funding allocated through the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) State Trade Expansion Program (STEP) program, which helps small businesses enter new markets, access export financing and attend trade missions and was authorized by Senator Shaheen’s small business trade amendment.

Shaheen’s final visit of the day was with Mercury Systems, Inc. in Hudson, where she toured the facility and learned about their cutting-edge technology. Mercury’s technology is deployed on more than 300 aerospace and defense platforms across land, sea, air, space and cyberspace. Nearly 300 employees in Mercury’s Hudson facility support many of the U.S. military’s most advanced capabilities including the Army’s Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense Sensor radar. Mercury is continuing to add to their workforce, staffing further technical and manufacturing roles in Hudson.

Senator Shaheen is a leader in the U.S. Senate to bolster the domestic defense stockpile and to address the urgent need, amid Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine, to supply the U.S. and partners around the world with the military equipment needed to deter and defend from adversaries.

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