CRANE, Ind. - In the middle of a gut-wrenching economic downturn, job fairs are few and far between. This is especially so with job fairs looking for scientists, engineers and technology professionals. However, that is exactly what will take place on April 25, 2009 at the Purdue Research Park located at the Indianapolis AmeriPlex commercial park.

"To meet mission requirements, [the] Crane division [of the] Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC Crane ) will hire in excess of 300 employees during fiscal year 2009,' a statement said that was issued by the public affairs office from the $2 billion southern Indiana federal military laboratory. "NSWC Crane is interested in journeyman-level scientists, engineers and contract specialists."

The job fair, which is co-sponsored by Indiana U.S. Sens. Richard Lugar and Evan Bayh, will also have present major commercial defense companies ITT, Lockheed Martin, EG&G, SAIC, Stimulus Engineering, McKean, Tri-Star, TSC and Saber.

These companies represent a growing commercial presence throughout Indiana including the northeast Indiana and Fort Wayne region, Indianapolis and the WestGate @ Crane Technology Park located just outside the NSWC federal facility. NSWC Crane added in its statement: "These companies will be looking for entry-level as well as journeyman [positions] and are also interested in technicians, logisticians and administrative candidates."

NSWC Crane, which is located on the 100-square-mile Naval Support Activity (NSA) facility in southern Indiana, takes as its primary focus strategic missions, electronic warfare, information operations and special missions.

These focus areas are broken down into 14 separate areas of expertise including strategic systems hardware, microelectronic and microwave technologies, radar systems, defense security systems, electro-optic systems and acoustic sensors. Jason Lovell - the director of the state's Office of Defense Development - says Indiana's federal and commercial economic defense-related output is more than $5.1 billion and growing.

"With the presence of major research universities like Purdue and Indiana University, a strong IT work force and excellent relationships with major defense companies like Raytheon, ITT, SAIC and others, Indiana is certainly a state to watch for robust commercial defense growth," Lovell told MidwestBusiness.com. "NSWC Crane does superb work all over the globe and represents a very strong economic engine for the people of Indiana."

"[NSWC] Crane has done a great job in diversifying its contract work over recent years. This job fair is a testament to the people at Crane doing great work," said Mark Hayes. He’s a press secretary for Indiana Sen. Richard Lugar.

Speaking from his Washington, D.C. office, Hayes told MidwestBusiness.com that the Crane military facility, which employs (directly or indirectly) more than 5,000 scientists, engineers and technical professionals, continues to demonstrate "high value" to all branches of the U.S. military and the Department of Homeland Security. Key to the facility's success is how "they work so well with contractors in the region," he added.

SAIC, which is America's seventh-largest commercial defense contractor, recently opened a new enterprise facility in the WestGate park outside NSWC Crane. SAIC now expects its employment base to rise to more than 1,000 technology professionals over the next 24 months.

"As NSWC Crane grows, so does the commercial defense industry cluster in the region, which is good news for everyone," said Ron Arnold. He’s the executive director of the Daviess County Economic Development Corporation (DCEDC). Arnold told MidwestBusiness.com that the expansion of the military federal laboratory was fueling entrepreneurial growth in the region with "dozens of small technology companies opening their doors over the past few years".

He added: "These smaller companies fill unique needs for the larger contractors serving the base, which means strong organic growth across the board."

Just how much of an impact does the NSWC Crane facility have on southern Indiana? State officials estimate that the Crane military facility contributes more than $2 million per business day into the Indiana economy. Crane officials earlier stated publicly that - during a major growth phase from 2000 to 2002 - the base hired more scientists, engineers and technical professionals than pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly did in Indianapolis during the same time.

"There are not many places in the U.S. where technology professionals can do the high level of work like what is done at Crane. It’s an attractive proposition for career growth and satisfaction," Lovell said.

The April 25 job fair will take place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the AmeriPlex park on the west side of Indianapolis. NSWC Crane officials say those interested in applying "should bring their resumes, transcripts and a DD214 [form] if claiming veteran's preference."