programs. The OEM devotes another 15% of its product mix to armor programs (primarily for Humvees and other Army ve- hicles). After the 20% of operations that go into mobile repair center as- sembly, the company is left with a balance of about 15% that is spread through small arms and other replacement parts, includ- ing for certain original equipment the facility has produced in the past, such as howitzers and armor systems. The mobile repair units do not use


any metal castings, and neither do the armor programs (the plates currently in production are cut from fl at steel with a laser and sent out as kits). So, most of the metalcasting work goes toward the arsenal’s prolifi c howitzer builds. RIA currently is making around 500 how- itzers at a rate of 10 per month on a contract that spans a fi ve-year period. The fi nal shipped product is broken into fi ve main subassemblies: the trail, cradle, saddle, breech and barrel, and fi ring platform. “We do the whole nine yards [on


the howitzers] here in house,” Besse said. “That’s one of the things we sell ourselves on. We even manage the other 2,300 parts, the outsourced stuff.” According to Besse and Fullerlove,


the small arms production portion of the facility is one that the current ad- ministration would like to see grow. The Defense Logistics Agency was having diffi culty sourcing the parts, so RIA stepped in and started bidding on them. The arsenal recently purchased the required machines, acquired the expertise needed and set aside the appropriate fl oor space to make small arms parts production a signifi cant part of its business. “It’s going to be its own little focus factory,” Besse said. In addition to casting capabilities and assembly lines, RIA has several drop hammer forges of various sizes and an extensive machine shop. The company has two seven-axis machines, of which there are only a handful in the world.


Partnerships, Not Competitions RIA will take orders for one part


to one million parts. That’s a double- edged sword, admitted Fullerlove. The manufacturer can fulfi ll such short


MODERN CASTING / February 2010


In its 5,000-sq.-ft. investment casting plant, RIA primarily makes parts for programs produced by other arsenals.


on this article) to make parts to supply the line.


“We were disappointed, but at least


run orders primarily because it is not as focused on the bottom line, as are private companies. “We’re not in it to make a profi t,” Fullerlove said. “We are in it to be a supplier of choice for the military, and it doesn’t matter what the cost is.” Lipovic sees the same thing from his perspective in the metalcasting branch. “It is a challenge. The majority of the


work we get is very diffi cult for others to cast or in small quantities that make it unattractive to other [metalcasting facilities],” he said. In addition to its take-any-job phi-


losophy, RIA endures higher labor rates than many other weapons systems pro- ducers, so it can be underbid on some of the bulk programs the military sources. “We have to pay for certain things on


the island, like the grounds crew and the fi re department,” Besse said. “But we’re working to get the labor rates lower. And they are lower than they were three years ago.” In 2008, the disadvantage caught


up to RIA. For the fi rst time in its history, the arsenal failed to win a land-towed howitzer program on which the Army solicited bids. BAE Systems, London, won the job, for the M777 howitzer. Still, Cotter said RIA does not con-


sider private companies its competitors. Instead, the arsenal aims to create col- laborative opportunities with private industry, and it has gotten involved in the production of the M777, working with BAE (who declined to comment


we’re getting our foot in the door,” Besse said. RIA has been fulfi lling howitzer contracts for decades, so it doesn’t plan to let the loss of one program stop it anytime soon. The arsenal began producing the M119 in the early 1990s and has been winning similar contracts since. It’s been winning other weapons contracts for much longer than that. “We are kept in mind for artillery


pieces because we’ve been doing it for 100-plus years,” Besse said. In addition to its long-term relation-


ships, the facility also has the advantage of being able to begin fulfi lling orders without having to be paid for everything up front. It is attempting to use that and its technical advantages to build relation- ships with new customers. For example, the arsenal is following the military trend of light-weighting its artillery, hence the move into titanium castings, as well as research into composite armor. If the lessons learned over the years


teach RIA nothing else, it is that it is not invincible. Fullerlove said the installa- tion can’t be shut down entirely because it is a national historic landmark and home to a national cemetary; however, if it fails to convince customers it can do what it was designed to do—produce weapons systems that no other facility can produce—it could be repurposed. “People don’t know what our capa-


bilities are,” Fullerlove said. “[Our mar- keting department] is out there selling us like never before. And the Colonel is our biggest advocate.”


MC 27


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68