Rockwell Collins is marking its 60th anniversary in the United Kingdom with the official opening of a new center of excellence in Winnersh, Wokingham, to support its commercial and military customers.

Employees from the company's previous facility in Reading, approximately five miles away, began working at the new building this week.

“The opening of this brand new facility in conjunction with celebrating our 60th anniversary is a demonstration of our continuous investment in the UK,” said Colin Mahoney, senior vice president, International & Service Solutions for Rockwell Collins. “From this new center of excellence, we'll respond to customer demand by bringing to the market innovative capabilities in areas such as satellite navigation and networking.”

The new building features 40,000 square feet of laboratory facilities with research and development space, plus 30,000 square feet of offices over three floors. It has been specially designed to host high-value engineering, business development, program management and shared service functions.

With three main sites at Winnersh, Burgess Hill and Crawley, Rockwell Collins currently employs over 480 people in the U.K. with exports representing over 75 percent of its revenues. Since 1955, Rockwell Collins has expanded its presence in the U.K. to provide a comprehensive range of aviation electronics, communications, and simulation and training solutions to governments, aircraft manufacturers and OEMs in the United Kingdom, Europe and around the world.

Rockwell Collins is an approved British defense contractor and works closely with all facets of the defense industry, from small and medium enterprises to large multinational defense firms. Past successes such as the company's involvement in the U.K. Bowman program and the U.K. Defense HF Communication Service have come through partnerships and collaborations.