Construction Begins on New Administrative Support Complex at Pantex

  • Posted: Thursday, August 18, 2016, 12:00 am

Groundbreaking ceremony for 343,000 square foot facility

AMARILLO, Texas – Representatives from Congress, the Department of Energy, and other distinguished national, state and local leaders joined leaders from Consolidated Nuclear Security, LLC—the managing and operating contractor for the U.S. Department of Energy/National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) Pantex Plant—for a groundbreaking ceremony to mark the beginning of construction for the new Administrative Support Complex (ASC).

The ASC is designed to provide a modern administrative and support facility for the weapons mission at Pantex and relocate employees from aging facilities that have proved functionally and technologically challenging.

“NNSA’s mission to maintain the safety, security, and effectiveness of the nuclear weapons stockpile is critical to America’s security. The incredibly dedicated, talented and hardworking workforce at Pantex deserve a safe, functional, and adaptive workspace to carry out that mission,” said Lt. Gen. Frank G. Klotz (Ret.), Under Secretary for Nuclear Security and NNSA Administrator.

“I am pleased to join Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz and Rep. Mac Thornberry in celebrating today’s milestone with the Pantex community.”

“This new facility is a significant investment in the future of the Pantex facility and its critical national security mission,“ said CNS Deputy Enterprise Manager, Michelle Reichert. “This milestone underscores our commitment to address the Pantex Plant’s aging infrastructure challenges, and to invest in the site to position it for the future.”

The 343,000 square foot state of the art building will provide an administrative and support facility for the nuclear security mission at Pantex and relocate employees from numerous aging facilities that are costly to operate and do not meet modern standards. Along with office space for nearly one-third of Pantex employees, the facility will be equipped with a 390-seat auditorium, conference center, cafeteria, visitor's center, and medical and employee health and fitness facilities.

“The ASC will allow us to consolidate administrative functions from over 35 legacy facilities at the Pantex site into one modern, energy efficient facility. This will allow us to take the resources that we’ve being dedicating to those older facilities and concentrate them in facilities for the enduring mission we have at Pantex,” added Reichert.

Construction is scheduled to take approximately two years with more than 2,000 craftsmen working on the 3-story complex.

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Consolidated Nuclear Security, LLC (CNS) operates the Pantex Plant, located in Amarillo, Texas, and the Y-12 National Security Complex, located in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, under a single contract for the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration. Pantex and Y-12 are key facilities in the U.S. Nuclear Security Enterprise, and CNS performs its work with a focus on the performance excellence and the imperatives of safety, security, zero defects and delivery as promised.

For more information on each site, visit www.pantex.com or www.y12.doe.gov. Follow Pantex on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn. Follow Y-12 on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Flickr.