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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowIndianapolis-based Allison Transmission Inc. has completed the first
production-quality transmission that could be used in a new amphibious
fighting vehicle for the U.S. Marine Corps – a development that could
mean substantial work for the local manufacturer.
“We’re getting closer to gaining a very, very large contract,” Allison spokesman Eric Dickerson said.
Allison was scheduled to discuss the vehicle late this morning at a
press conference at Plant 14, a high-security building on the west side
of Indianapolis where about 280 people work on transmissions for
various military vehicles.
If the Marines like the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle, which has been
under development since 1996, Allison and other subcontractors of
General Dynamics Corp. would be asked to produce as many as 573 units.
Allison is working on the EFV as a subcontractor for General Dynamics
Land Systems in Sterling Heights, Mich., a unit of Falls Church,
Va.-based General Dynamics.
Dickerson said he did not have permission to discuss the value of Allison’s current subcontract.
General Dynamics’ contract, granted in 2005, calls for producing 14
EFVs for the Marines to evaluate in 2010 and 2011. The general contract
was worth $19 million.
Dickerson said he could not predict how winning the full EFV contract
would affect Allison’s employment levels. The company is pursuing other
military projects at the same time, he said.
Allison employs 2,800 people, most of them locally.
“If this vehicle performs, this is some of the growth we could use to maintain existing employment levels,” Dickerson said.
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