It was a day of celebration at BAE Systems. Company officials were joined by many elected leaders for a special ceremony to welcome the company to Endicott. As our Melissa Kakareka tells us, it's been a long journey.

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ENDICOTT, N.Y. -- State and local leaders visited the Huron Campus in Endicott Thursday to officially welcome BAE Systems to the neighborhood.

"We are so proud you are staying here, so proud you are staying in New York State. We don't want to lose you and we want to keep you right here and keep you growing," said Lieutenant Governor Robert Duffy.

The company announced it was moving to the location a few weeks ago after September's flood forced them out of their Johnson City facility. The company celebrated the decision by unveiling a new sign outside the location.

"This whole team has gone through so much with the flood and the permanent recovery after the flood. Now to be able to put up a sign in front of our building and say this is where we'll be, this is just fantastic," said BAE Electronic Systems Deputy General Manager Dan Gobel.

Over the next few months, the company will be consolidating its employees into about 400,000 square feet of the facility. And they will modify the building to fit their needs and really make the place feel like home.

"We've now made our commitment, put our sign up and over the next few months, we will be modifying it to fit our needs," said Gobel.

It's a recovery that some officials say will serve as a symbol of strength and resiliency for the entire region as it continues to recover from the flood.

"Today's ceremony is and will continue to be a metaphor for the whole region. We had trouble, but we faced it, we didn't leave and we came back and we're coming back better than stronger than ever. That's true of BAE and true of the Southern Tier," said Senator Charles Schumer.