(Read more on the industrial market.)

CHESWICK, PA-Roseland, NJ-based Curtiss-Wright Corp. has begun construction of a 48,000-sf plant on its existing electro-mechanical division site here. The state is providing a $440,000 financial package to support the project, which has an estimated construction cost of $62 million.

The nine-story building will be used initially to manufacture 16 commercial nuclear reactor coolant pumps for four commercial nuclear power plants that Westinghouse Electric Co. is building in China. The facility, which is expected to be operational next year, will also support the production and testing of other new products used to produce nuclear energy.

Gov. Ed Rendell hails the project as "cementing our role as one our nation's largest exporting states and maintaining a strong trade relationship with China, a top importer of goods and services." In a statement, he also cites this project as an example "of how our investments are triggering additional economic development growth."