WEST POINT — Twenty-seven laid-off Navistar Defense workers were back in action at the West Point facility today, and 30-40 more will follow each week, as the plant ramps up production on a new $751 million contract.
Elissa Koc, Navistar Defense spokesperson, said the contract with the Marine Corps for 1,050 new Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles will result in 400 former employees being rehired. The contract, which was announced Wednesday, requires delivery to begin in April and conclude by the end of August.
“(The West Point factory) will probably start now getting everything in place to begin manufacturing,” said Koc.
Hiring for those 400 jobs will provide a needed boost to Clay County”s sagging employment rate, according to Clay County District 1 Supervisor Lynn Horton. Navistar will draw from 900 employees laid off after the initial MRAP contracts concluded in May 2009.
The contract is a huge economic shot in the arm for struggling West Point and Clay County, which is tied with Holmes County for the highest unemployment rate in the state, at 19 percent, according to the state Department of Employment Security.
“We had the highest unemployment rate, so anything we could do to get more people working is a plus,” said Horton, whose district contains the plant.
Hiring for Navistar Defense in West Point is handled through Express Personnel, an employment service with offices in West Point and Starkville.
Navistar in West Point currently employs approximately 100 workers. It employed close to 1,000 at the peak of its last production run of MRAPs. That original $623 million contract was awarded in May 2007 for 1,200 units. The next order of $414 million for 755 units was received in July 2007.
More than 6,000 MRAPs were produced in West Point between May 2007 and May 2009.
Koc says Navistar Defense, which also produces the 7000 Series line of military utility vehicles, is constantly courting further contracts to maintain or grow production and employment at each of its facilities.
“We”re always pursuing other new opportunities. With the MRAP, we”re looking at possibly contracting with Allied forces, too,” said Koc.
Although the Marine Corps placed the order for the MRAPs, Koc says the vehicles may end up with units from other branches of the military serving in Afghanistan.
The MaxxPro MRAP is designed with a V-shaped hull to deflect explosions from mines and roadside bombs in order to protect the vehicle”s inhabitants.
“The MRAP vehicles to be built at West Point will continue to support the strengthened U.S. military surge in Afghanistan. MRAPs have saved hundreds of our troops from roadside bombs, and I am proud that a significant number of them have been built in Mississippi,” said U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss., ranking Republican on the Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee.
“I am also pleased that our strong West Point workforce will be part of providing the Marine Corps with these life-saving vehicles,” he said.
The cabins and chassises for the MRAPs are assembled at Navistar”s Garland, Texas, facility. The vehicles are integrated with military components after they arrive in West Point.
Upgrades to the MRAP include the DXM independent suspension, which provides greater mobility and off-road capability, along with stronger doors, better insulation and the addition of an inclinometer.
The DXM suspension and the inclinometer are both assets in Afghanistan, says Koc, due to the country”s lack of road infrastructure.
Jason Browne was previously a reporter for The Dispatch.
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