An open house is scheduled for 3-5 p.m. Feb. 21 at 24 Center St. in Stafford. Members of the Stafford County Board of Supervisors will be among the attendees.

The new 30,000 square foot office is needed for the rapidly expanding staff, which has grown from two people in 1996 to more than 130 highly specialized employees today.

Battelle Stafford Operations has responsibility for activities in eight other states and actively supports the Marine Corps Systems Command in the following areas of business:

Providing chemical, biological and radiological test and evaluation support to the Marine Corps Systems Command and other federal agencies.

Assisting in the acquisition of critical nuclear, biological and chemical defense first responder equipment for federal, state and local governments.

Managing various homeland security initiatives including Consequence Management Information, a system to be used by emergency response teams in crisis situations across America.

"We're committed to the Stafford community, the Marine Corps and the nation and we intend to keep playing a pivotal role in their continued growth and success in the interest of science and the national defense," said Kevin Brickhouse, manager of the Stafford Operations.

The office has annual sales in excess of $25 million and is a strong corporate citizen in Stafford County contributing to and volunteering for a number of local charitable causes.

Battelle serves industry and government in the areas of technology development, laboratory management, and technology commercialization. Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, Battelle has annual revenues of $1 billion, has operations at more than 70 locations and clients in 30 countries. It counts as its successes the development of the office copier machine (Xerox), pioneering work on the compact disc, medical technology breakthroughs, and fiber optic advancements for telecommunications. Visit the web site at www.battelle.org.

For more information, contact Media Relations Manager Katy Delaney at (614) 424-5544 or Dana Buskirk at (540) 288-5514.