DATE: Tuesday, March 4, 1997                TAG: 9703040316

SECTION: BUSINESS                PAGE: D1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY MYLENE MANGALINDAN, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH                    LENGTH:   49 lines

PAINTBALL COMPANY OPENS $2.25 MILLION BEACH FACILITY

ECI Systems and Engineering, a high-tech company with an eye on fun and games, officially opened its new $2.25 million manufacturing facility in the Oceana West Corporate Park Monday.

ECI, short for Eastern Computers Inc., designs and manufactures integration systems for telecommunication companies like radio stations and the military.

But it's also trying to make a name for itself for its playful side - its high-tech foray into paintball.

Paintball is a game in which players shoot small balls that splat paint on objects or persons. ECI is manufacturing guns which shoot glow-in-the-dark paintballs, an invention of ECI's president, Dr. Richard T. Cheng.

The company markets its paintball guns globally. Its big market launch is scheduled for later this year, Cheng said. About 1 million enthusiasts worldwide play paintball.

``Eventually the biggest consumer will be the amusement parks,'' he said.

The company chose to move to a new 46,000-square-foot manufacturing facility to accommodate the expected growth of its paintball business, consolidate engineering in one location and trim costs, Cheng said.

The firm expects to add about 110 people over the next two years, he said. It employs approximately 350 people worldwide, including about 175 in Hampton Roads.

``Moving over here we can save quite a bit,'' Cheng said.

ECI's sales last year ranged between $40 million and $50 million, Cheng said. Its dependence on federal contracts has fallen from 90 percent of its business to 60 percent.

In addition to making electronic devices like radios for unexpected airport communication failures, ECI is involved in computer networking. It predesigns buildings so the Internet and internal communication networks are built in, Cheng said.

ECI consolidated two Hampton Roads manufacturing facilities into its new Oceana West location. It had leased a facility on Diamond Springs and another on Central Drive. It moved those operations and its manufacturing division in Lorton, Va., into the new facility at 2601 Reliance Drive in Virginia Beach.

ECI has retained its headquarters on Lynnhaven Parkway and a material testing lab in Norfolk. It purchased the land from the city of Virginia Beach for a little less than $55,000 an acre. The facility sits on 7.7 acres. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo<

Dr. Richard T. Cheng, left. KEYWORDS: ECI SYSTEMS AND ENGINEERING EASTERN COMPUTERS INC.

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