A veteran-owned defense manufacturer has opened a new 15,000-square-foot facility at Pecos 17 Industrial Park in southeast Mesa, adding fresh manufacturing and testing space as it works to keep up with growing military demand for portable power systems. Nishati Power Technologies says the expansion will boost production capacity, add testing capabilities and create additional skilled manufacturing jobs.
According to Chamber Business News, the new site includes roughly 6,285 square feet of manufacturing space and 8,805 square feet dedicated to testing operations — meaning the facility leans more heavily toward testing than assembly. The addition brings Nishati's total Arizona footprint to more than 25,000 square feet, the outlet reports. Nishati describes itself as a veteran-owned manufacturer of tactical power systems built to operate in remote and demanding environments, according to the same report.
Nishati CEO Robert Charette framed the move as a response to the Pentagon's shifting power needs. “This expansion strengthens our ability to deliver the mission-critical tactical power warfighters need,” Charette said, per Chamber Business News. He also called Mesa the natural choice for the company's continued growth, according to KTAR News.
Why Mesa Won Out Over Other Sites
Nishati pointed to the Mesa location's access to the Loop 202 Freeway, proximity to Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport, and its ties to workforce development programs at the East Valley Institute of Technology and Arizona State University's Polytechnic campus as reasons for choosing the site, the chamber outlet reports. A property report on the park notes that Pecos 17 is designed as a small- to medium-bay industrial park built for flexibility, according to ZoomProspector Arizona's listing for the site.
The push for more portable power capacity is tied to how the military fights now. The Pentagon's growing reliance on drones, artificial intelligence and other advanced battlefield systems is driving demand for reliable, portable power, the chamber report notes. Nishati's own releases describe a steady flow of military orders behind that demand: the company said it received orders for hundreds of additional Outpost Hybrid Generator 2000-DC systems to support U.S. Marine Corps operations, and that the OHG 2000-DC was selected as the Lightweight DC Generator under the Marine Corps' Small Unit Power Program of Record. Nishati has also said it was selected by the Marine Corps to deliver more than 600 Outpost Hybrid Generators over the next two years.
A Broader East Valley Manufacturing Push
Nishati's expansion lands amid a cluster of manufacturing growth around Mesa. A subsidiary of a Canadian drone maker opened a Mesa office in October, with the related facility potentially employing 45 people initially, according to the Phoenix Business Journal. Separately, Boeing has proposed expanding its own Mesa manufacturing campus in a move that could create hundreds of jobs and boost production of composite components for U.S. military aircraft, the Journal also reports.
Monogram Aerospace is planning its own buildout nearby, adding roughly 57,632 square feet to an existing building and making room for about 16 new CNC machines along with manufacturing and quality-control space, according to AZBEX. Workforce data suggests the region will need the help: Mesa's advanced manufacturing sector employed approximately 12,400 workers as of late 2024, up 8.3% year over year, per KI Talent. The same report projected roughly 400 entry-level technicians entering the market in spring of this year, against projected demand for 1,200 new technical roles across the East Valley supply chain.
That talent pipeline is part of why Nishati cited EVIT and ASU's Polytechnic campus as draws to the area. ASU has said its Polytechnic campus serves as the hub for advanced manufacturing education under the AZNext workforce program, which was designed to train at least 2,000 participants over four years, according to ASU News. Whether that pipeline has kept pace with employer demand isn't addressed in the available reporting, but the Mesa corridor's run of defense and aerospace investment shows no signs of slowing.
