After more than a year of being idle, the Navistar Defense assembly plant in West Point will be up and running again early next year.
U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss., said in a news release Thursday that the company will make upgrades to the U.S. Army’s Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles as part of a $38.4 million contract. The funding comes from Fiscal Year 2014 appropriations derived by Congress for the Department of Defense. Cochran is the vice chairman for the Senate’s subcommittee on defense.
Elissa Maurer, spokesperson for Navistar, said a “couple hundred” contracted positions would be filled to do the work.
The award is to reset and standardize the vehicles in the Army’s fleet. The award, which runs through June 2016, also includes installation of survivability upgrades on vehicles returning from theater, Maurer added.
“We are pleased that these vehicles, which have played such a vital role in keeping our service men and women safe in combat, will continue to serve our country,” Maurer said. “Our facility operates on a project-by-project basis and we will be expanding our contracted workforce beginning this month to support this contract.
Production was suspended at the West Point plant in July 2013 in response to across-the-board federal budget reductions. The plant opened in 2008 and hit peak production in 2010.
West Point Mayor Robbie Robinson said the development will not only be a boon to the city’s and Clay County’s economy, but to the Golden Triangle area as a whole.
“When you’re doing contract work with DOD, it’s feast or famine,” Robinson said. “We do appreciate Navistar. They do good work, and the Department of Defense knows that. They deliver on time, have a good work ethic and give a good product.”
There are about 3,000 MRAPs in the Army’s fleet, Maurer said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Nathan Gregory covers city and county government for The Dispatch.
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