$10.5M for MRAP P900 Armor Plating

Cast away… The USA’s Mine Protected Ambush Resistant (MRAP) vehicle program has received a DX rating from the Pentagon – a rating normally restricted for items like nuclear missile submarines. That rating gives MRAP vehicles supplier priority over almost every other Pentagon weapons program, and the Defense Department has been rushing to ensure that items earlier in the supply chain like tires, steel, radios, et. al. are ordered well in advance to avoid slowing production. Military-grade and high-alloy steel are inputs of especial concern, since they’re produced in large but nonetheless limited quantities. Small business qualifier (and Meterra subsidiary) Waukesha Foundry Inc. in Waukesha, Wis. received a $10.5 million firm-fixed-price contract for P900 Plates for MRAP Vehicle Armor Kits. The order is a validation of the new owners’ “specialized niches” business strategy, which has enabled the firm to survive despite the foundry industry’s recent slowdowns. Work will be performed in Waukesha, Wis., and is expected to be complete by April 22, 2008. This was a sole source contract initiated on Aug. 22, 2007 by the U.S. Army Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command in Warren, MI (W56HZV-07-C-0621).