Engineered Support to refurbish military trailers returning from Operation Iraqi Freedom

March 14, 2005
Engineered Support Systems, Inc. received an additional $7.4 million order under its firm-fixed price contract with the U.S. Army Tank-automotive and Armaments Command (TACOM) at Warren, Michigan to remanufacture M1000 Heavy Equipment Transport (HET) trailers.

Engineered Support Systems, Inc. received an additional $7.4 million order under its firm-fixed price contract with the U.S. Army Tank-automotive and Armaments Command (TACOM) at Warren, Michigan to remanufacture M1000 Heavy Equipment Transport (HET) trailers.

The current order involves refurbishment of 32 M1000 HET systems previously deployed during Operation Iraqi Freedom in southwest Asia, bringing the funded value of the contract to $56.2 million for a total of 288 trailers ordered to date, according to Gerald A. Potthoff, Vice Chairman, CEO and President of Engineered Support.

The M1000 HET refurbishment contract calls for the company's wholly-owned subsidiary, Systems & Electronics Inc. (SEI), to remanufacture up to 1,063 M1000 HET trailers to "like new" condition at its West Plains, Missouri, manufacturing facility over the next five years. The contract includes options for up to 775 additional units over this period. All funded orders to date are included within the company's current revenue and earnings forecast for fiscal 2005.

The M1000 HET, designed and manufactured exclusively by SEI, is one of the best tank and heavy equipment transporters in the world. With its high degree of flexibility, it can carry all types of tracked and wheeled vehicles, containers and large bulk cargo weighing as much as 80 tons on or off-road. Specifically, the M1000 is engineered to transport the M1 Series main battle tank over primary and secondary roads or cross-country over rough unimproved surfaces. Over the past decade, SEI has manufactured more than 2,300 M1000 HET trailers deployed with the U.S. Army worldwide.