Westinghouse Electric Co's selection of the Cranberry Woods office park for the company's new $100 million headquarters and research center is a monumental coup for Butler County's business and industrial-development efforts.

But it's much more than that. It's an accomplishment on behalf of all of Western Pennsylvania, with the positive benefits of the decision even destined to be felt in places such as West Virginia and Ohio.

After a site review of the East Coast, Westinghouse settled on the Cranberry Township site, validating the vision embraced by the Mine Safety Appliance Co. and local officials in preparing the township for such a major business acquisition.

When fully in place, Westinghouse will become Butler County's largest employer.

What's exciting is the jobs coming here will encourage the county's brightest to make their permanent homes here after completing their education, rather than seeking "greener pastures" elsewhere.

Westinghouse has about 3,450 employees in Western Pennsylvania and anticipates increasing its workforce by at least 1,100 during the next five years. Most of those jobs will be coming to Butler County, along with a $300 million annual payroll to support those positions — providing a big boost to most elements of the area economy.

For this county, the bottom-line consideration leading up to Westinghouse's selection of Cranberry Woods was that the county is prepared to welcome such a large-scale enterprise. Not only is the county ready to accommodate Westinghouse's now, it will be capable of accommodating Westinghouse's long-term future.

Vaughn Gilbert, a Westinghouse spokesman, confirmed Tuesday that "Cranberry Woods was chosen because it can accommodate future expansion." His comment could be expanded to include "in a pleasant work environment with modern connections to about anywhere that Westinghouse's operations require."

The new Cranberry Connector, providing easy access to the Pennsylvania Turnpike and Interstate 79, improvements completed or planned for state Route 228, and close access to the Butler County Airport and Greater Pittsburgh International Airport make Cranberry the ideal site for a company of Westinghouse's size.

Of equal importance is the availability of quality school systems in and around the Cranberry area, which will provide added incentive for Westinghouse families to want to move here, rather than for workers to commute.

New homes continue to be built in and around the Cranberry area, and developers now will have further reason to continue the brisk pace of homebuilding.

With about a two-year span until Westinghouse moves into its new Cranberry Woods facilities, there will be ample time for southwestern Butler County — indeed, Butler County in general — northern Allegheny County, and Beaver County to ready themselves for this important arrival.

But to its credit, Cranberry is in most ways already ready.

As Jerry Andree, township manager, pointed out, Cranberry, more than a decade ago, began the task of creating an environment where the emerging technology and knowledge-based companies of the 21st century could prosper and benefit the entire community.

That thinking provided the seed for the township's master plan for growth. Meanwhile, the vision for the future extended to transportation, improved water supply and sewage facilities, and upgraded land-use and township services management.

Westinghouse will provide another large-scale international connection for Butler County. On the one hand, Westinghouse's parent company is the Toshiba Corp.; on the other, Westinghouse's nuclear power plant division is growing substantially as the result of contracts for four nuclear plants that will be built in China.

Spring arrived a day early in Butler County with the budding of Westinghouse on the local landscape.