January
5, 2004
Grand Rapids Business Journal
MUSKEGON. — The U.S. Army has awarded a
$12.5 million contract to one of the old defense industry
stand-bys in Muskegon.
The contract, awarded to General Dynamics Landing Systems,
is for the procurement of 1,800 crankshaft engines for
the M88 Hercules recovery vehicle.
The announcement came recently
from the Washington office of Congressman Pete Hoekstra,
R-Holland.
“General
Dynamics is a premier defense contractor,” Hoekstra
said, “and I am pleased to announce that its
Muskegon plant will continue to produce equipment
used by the U.S. military.
“While
our soldiers battle on the front lines, they can rest
assured that men and women back home will be helping
to build the vehicles that are crucial to their ongoing
success.”
Work on the engines will take place at General Dynamics’
manufacturing plant in Muskegon, which has been through
several corporate lives since World War II.
It came
into existence as part of Ryan Motors, a pre-war manufacturer
of engines for light aircraft.
It later
became the General Products Division of Continental
Motors Corp., then Teledyne Continental Motors and,
now, General Dynamics Land Systems.
The firm
is to manufacture 1,050 hp engines for an armored
vehicle that is designed to tow damaged or mired tanks
out of trouble and to retrieve other armored vehicles
from combat zones.
The M88
recovery vehicle — which looks a bit like a
30-foot ingot on treads — has the capacity to
drag a 70-ton Abrams tank out of the line of fire.
It also is equipped with a boom that enables it to
lift and carry vehicles weighing up to 25 tons.
The M88 is the Army’s
largest vehicle recovery system. The estimated contract
completion date is Dec. 12, 2008.
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