Hey, I Used to Work There!

BAE's vehicle manufacturing plant in Sealy, Texas is sbeing closed next year:

The U.S. subsidiary of BAE Systems Plc plans to close a military vehicle plant in Texas next year and lay off about 325 employees, the company announced.

The facility, located about 50 miles outside Houston in Sealy, since 1990 has produced tactical wheeled vehicles for the U.S. military, including blast-resistant trucks known as Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles, or MRAPs, for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the Humvee replacement Joint Light Tactical Vehicle, or JLTV.

The London-based company said industry contraction drove the decision to shutter the site by June 2014.

When I worked there in the early 1900s, it was owned by Stewart & Stevenson, and was the center of the $1.4 billion contract for the 2½ and 5 ton military trucks.

The writing for this plant was on the wall when Oshkosh Corp. managed to decode a Sealy's sub-par drawing package and win the latest FMTV Contract.

Oshkosh Truck Bid Survives Contract Protests

BAE Systems and Navistar International have had their protests on the FMTV contract award to Oshkosh overturned by the Army:

Oshkosh Corp. fended off a challenge from two competitors, keeping a U.S. Army contract to build armored trucks valued at as much as $3 billion. Oshkosh shares jumped in late trading.

Today’s decision by the Army lifts a stop-work order placed last year after losing bidders BAE Systems Plc and Navistar International Corp. protested to the Government Accountability Office, the Army said in a statement. The companies said the Army didn’t fully weigh the risk in Oshkosh’s proposal for the Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles, or FMTVs.

The GAO in December determined that the Army didn’t consider that Oshkosh lacked key equipment, allowing the company to receive the same high production-capability rating as BAE, which had made the trucks since 1991. The agency asked the Army to reevaluate the bids.

I'm not surprised, it was a lower bid, and the truck itself is designed to be assembled out of component parts with little, if any machining, welding, etc. being done at the plant.

At least that was the scheme when I worked there.^* They did not intend to have a machine shop or an electrical shop, because they expected everything to come in to specification from the vendors.

If this is a fixed price contract, the only risk here is that of Oshkosh.

^*Full disclosure I worked at Stewart & Stevenson, Tactical Vehicle Systems, in Sealy, TX on the FMTV in 1992 and 1993.^†
†Yes, I have worked everywhere. Maybe I can't hold down a job, but more likely this has been my role as "technical hit man", where you are parachuted in to take care of a specific need.

FMTV Production Contract Award Protested

Remember when I said that Oshkosh had won the FMTV military truck production competition, and so would be replacing BAE subsidiary Stewart and Stevenson?^*

Well, BAE has filed a protest on the FMTV award, which means that there stop work order in effect.

Thankfully, production does not start for about year, so it should not have much of an effect, unless, of course, Oshkosh is using the time to redo the drawing package, which is likely.

^*Full disclosure I worked at Stewart & Stevenson, Tactical Vehicle Systems, in Sealy, TX on the FMTV in 1992 and 1993.^†
†Yes, I have worked everywhere. Maybe I can't hold down a job, but more likely this has been my role as "technical hit man", where you are parachuted in to take care of a specific need.

Oshkosh Wins FMTV Contract

It beat out BAE subsidiary Stewart and Stevenson^* to win the contract for the FMTV Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles, a bunch of cab-over 4x4 2½ ton and 6x6 5 ton transport vehicles.

I am surprised that they beat out Stewart and Stevenson.

This is not because of any great knowledge of capability in S&S, but because in the various attempts to compete this deal, competitors have always been leery making of a bid because of the low quality of the drawing package.....Talk about screwing up in reverse.

I guess that the DoD finally got around to insisting that a proper drawing package be produced, and once there was a drawing package that allowed other manufacturers to compete, it was inevitable that the award would go to a company with actual experience in making trucks.

The background of the original contract award is a bit "colorful," BTW.

^*Full disclosure I worked at Stewart & Stevenson, Tactical Vehicle Systems, in Sealy, TX on the FMTV in 1992 and 1993.^†
†Yes, I have worked everywhere. Maybe I can't hold down a job, but more likely this has been my role as "technical hit man", where you are parachuted in to take care of a specific need.