(FORTUNE Magazine) – A new round of military base shutdowns is about to be announced, adding to the 70 facilities earmarked for closure since 1988. Since then, defense activities have ceased at 31 installations, causing the elimination of over 30,000 civilian jobs. While job creation at bases converted into industrial parks, airports, and education centers has replaced only about 8,000 of those losses, locales that planned early are attracting businesses and building jobs. Remarks Joshua Gotbaum, the assistant defense secretary overseeing the downsizing: "Communities that thought they were faced with the end of the world are finding that they are stronger, healthier, and economically more diverse." Companies that fight through bureaucratic and regulatory roadblocks can win lucrative deals. PC maker Packard Bell, enticed by 1.8 million square feet of available space and a $26 million loan package, is now moving its headquarters to the Sacramento Army Depot, which is shutting two years ahead of schedule. The company's 2,500 new hires will offset most of the 3,000 jobs lost to the closure. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, based in Lowell, Arkansas, opened a truck- driving school at the former England Air Force Base in Alexandria, Louisiana, also home to a public golf course. Hunt was so pleased with the dorms and driving areas that it located a second training center at another closed base, in Rantoul, Illinois. Its co-tenants there include defense contractor Textron. The Rhode Island-based manufacturer produces plastic interiors at Rantoul for Chrysler trucks and minivans. Turning a base hangar into an injection molding facility cost the company $2 million, vs. the $12 million it would have spent building a new factory. - E.S.