Research jobs coming to Rio Rancho

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - Stolar Research Corporation from Raton, New Mexico will break ground on a new facility on Thursday morning in northern Rio Rancho.

Company representatives say they expect to have 25 jobs when they officially open their doors to the new facility in May.

The company was founded in 1983 and basically is a research and development company that specializes in state-of-the-art radio geophysics. Primarily, their work was used for safety of workers in mines. That's now been expanded to developing products which protect soldiers in the military from things like improvised explosive devices. That technology they've developed is already being used to protect the lives of soldiers in places like Afghanistan.

"I think Stolar has potential to continue to grow and make a big contribution to the military," says Retired U.S. Army Major General Michael Jones, a consultant to Stolar Research Corporation. "What they have going for them is they're very innovative and creative at taking technology and figuring out how to adapt it to the needs of war fighters."

The company says they hope to double the number of new positions over the course of the next few years in Rio Rancho. They will also maintain their home base in Raton, New Mexico.

According to the company, most of the employees earn an average annual salary of $60,000 a year.