Vermont plant delivers
By PATRICK McARDLE STAFF WRITER - Published: October 7, 2009

BENNINGTON — Plasan North America announced Monday the company has delivered the first 750 armor kits to the U.S. Army as part of three contracts for about 4,300 armor-plated vehicles.

   The Israeli company, whose North American plants are in Bennington, was awarded a contract with partner Oshkosh Corp. of Wisconsin in July to make 2,224 mine-resistant, ambush-protected all-terrain vehicles that are expected to be deployed in Afghanistan. The order was increased by 1,700 in August. Together, the contracts were worth about $2 billion.

   The number of vehicles, known as M-ATVs, was increased last month by about 350. According to Plasan, the delivery of 750 M-ATV armor kits met a milestone set by the U.S. Department of Defense.

   In a statement, Dan Ziv, president and CEO of Plasan, said the company was proud of its work in meeting its production schedule. "Plasan's employees in Bennington have a personal stake in protecting soldiers serving in Afghanistan. As the Vermont National Guard begins to mobilize for its largest deployment since World War II, Plasan's employees are doing their part to protect their friends and neighbors while they are serving abroad. At Plasan, the war fighter is our first priority," he said.

   A "Hometown Heroes" picnic took place at Willow Park in Bennington on Saturday. The picnic was organized by residents for the members of the Vermont National Guard from the Bennington area who are scheduled to be deployed in Afghanistan in December.

   As senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Sen. Patrick Leahy has been cited as a key advocate for awarding the contract to Plasan. In a statement, Leahy said he was proud of the timely work done by Vermonters, especially because it would mean improved protection for U.S. troops serving in Afghanistan.

   "In producing these urgently needed vehicles, precision counts and so does time. The Army picked Plasan North America to build these vehicles to protect our forces in Afghanistan, knowing that Vermonters could be counted on to produce a quality product in record time. This milestone further validates the fact that Plasan found a world-class workforce when they came to Bennington," Leahy said.

   Plasan gave credit to its modular "kitted hull" concept, under which all armor parts and components are sent to the ATV manufacturer so they can be applied at the assembly line, for being able to meet the production deadline.

   Don Goldberg, a spokesman for Plasan, said the kitted hull was something Plasan had pioneered to meet the need for its armored components in a number of projects. The concept makes assembly more efficient and allows for future upgrades. Goldberg said the concept was not only a "much better way to engineer armored vehicles" than shipping the vehicle to the armor-provider, but also less expensive.

patrick.mcardle@rutlandherald.com
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