Tucson: Ballistic Fabrication LLC Supplies Parts to Army

By David Wichner

ARIZONA DAILY STAR 11/24/09

A Tucson maker of heavy­duty, precision parts for trucks is moving into a new market where the phrase “bomb-proof” is more than just slang.

Ballistic Fabrication LLC — which specializes in making sus­pension and steering parts for off-road vehicles — has won a U.S. Army contract to supply ar­mored parts for a mine-detec­tion vehicle.

The company, located near West Prince Road and Interstate 10 at 2010 W. McMillan St., will supply 6,120 armored parts un­der a contract with the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command.

The parts will be fabricated locally for final delivery by Jan. 7, the company said.

The parts are for the Husky Metal Detecting and Marking Ve­hicle, a roughly 10-ton, 24-foot­long truck resembling a road grader. Made by a South African company, the Husky has a blast­resistant hull and is designed to blow apart in sections to safe­guard the single operator. It tows several wheeled extensions to detonate buried explosives.

The parts Ballistic Fabrication is making are basically machined aluminum blocks used as con­nection points for armor plates, said Jeff Bullock, company own­er and president.

The contract is relatively small — worth about $40,000— but it is the company’s first di­rect military contract, he said.

“We’ve done quite a bit of subcontracting in the past,” Bul­lock said.

He noted that his company is making suspension parts as a subcontractor for the Special­ized Reconnaissance Assault and Transport System, or SRATS, a heavy-duty, all-terrain vehicle under development.

That contract is worth about $300,000 so far to the company, which employs 22 workers, Bul­lock said.

But the Husky contract could develop into something bigger, as the Army has given the com­pany a list of about 70 other parts it could bid on, he said.

Contact Assistant Business Editor David Wichner at 573-4181 or dwichner@azstarnet.com