Funds for Additional Submarine Leave Supplier Industry Optimistic
SUBMARINES
New London Day
Erin Kutz
Boston University Washington News Service
February 28, 2008
WASHINGTON— The Submarine Industrial Base Council had its 17th annual congressional breakfast Thursday with a distinct note of cheer in the air.
It was the first such meeting since Congress in November 2007 approved $588 million for construction of two Virginia-class submarines per year starting in 2011 instead of 2012, which was the Navy’s initial suggestion.
Since 2001, only one submarine has been produced a year, with production split between General Dynamics Electric Boat in Groton and Northrop Grumman in Newport News, Va.
“We’re coming out of a pretty good year,” said John Casey, president of Electric Boat. “I think everybody is pretty upbeat.”
But U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney (D-Conn) noted the industry still needs to do more to make their product’s economic and national security priorities known.
“This is a very competitive place, in terms of people trying to get their issues heard,” he told the crowd of nearly 200 representatives of companies from across the country that have a role in submarine production. “The competition this year is going to be even more intense.”
This year Electric Boat will push for an additional $79 million to begin construction on the second submarine prior to 2011, Casey said. The early start would ensure a smoother transition to the production of two submarines annually, stabilize the workforce supplying submarine parts and get the ship to the Navy sooner, he said.
The diminished demand in recent years has crippled the supplier industry, driving some companies to shut down completely and others to respond with layoffs and price increases for their products, Casey said. The industry also has struggled to sustain the skill set required for submarine parts production.
“The industrial base is composed of specialists,” said Raymon Sterman, CEO of Prime Technology, a North Branford firm that builds electronic systems for the submarines. “If we disappear and go in another direction, we’ll never recover.”
He added that the procurement for two submarines a year has enabled his company to lower its costs by 30 percent.
Maintaining stable production for Virginia-class submarines also has a pressing national security interest, Courtney said.
Raymond McGee, president and CEO of Ansonia Copper & Brass, said his company is one of two in the world that makes the alloy tubing for the Virginia-class submarines. If the demand ever dips low enough to drive the company out of business, the U.S. Navy would be forced to rely on one company in northern Germany for the product, he said.
The increase in Virginia-class production also aids in maintaining a stable manufacturing force for future generations, said Michelle Allinson, president of Cursor Industries, a five-person raw materials manufacturing company in Bloomfield. The current manufacturing base is aging, she said.
“It’s part of the entire economic well-being of our state,” she noted.
McGee also said the increased Virginia-class production has an important social component. The suppliers provide well-paying job opportunities for people who don’t go to college or own their own business. “If you don’t have these basic jobs, what will people do?” he said.
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