L3 Wescam will develop its new HQ in Waterdown, moving over a thousand jobs back to Hamilton

The first shovels in the ground, L3 Wescam has chosen to come back to Hamilton. It was in 1960 in Hamilton that John “Nox” Leavitt created the Wescam stabilized camera mount, launching what is now a world-leading company in infrared imaging technologies.

The company designs and manufactures mounted imaging systems with sensors. It was a Wescam product that captured the high-speed OJ Simpson chase in the ’90s and helped catch the gunman in New Brunswick who killed three RCMP officers five years ago.

The vice president of L3 Wescam says the spot along the escarpment will become the perfect place to test their technologies. Approximately 300 thousand square feet of space which is equivalent to six football fields and they’ll open the doors in 2021.

The new headquarters will merge employees from three locations in the GTA. Two of those facilities were located in Burlington. The company expects to hire future employees from McMaster and Mohawk College.