Published: July 16, 2008 08:23 am      

Local DRS facility closing

By David May
editor@mineralwellsindex.com

When it was announced in May that an Italian company was buying DRS Unmanned Technologies, officials tried at that time to allay any concerns about the acquisition’s potential impact on DRS’ facility in Mineral Wells.

DRS Vice President of Investor Relations Pat Williamson said then the proposed acquisition would not affect the Mineral Wells facility.

“We don’t anticipate that it would,” she told the Index. “It’s not like other acquisitions … where there’s a lot of cost cutting. It’s different because the idea behind it is for Finmeccanica to have more of a U.S. presence. We’re expecting to grow, not lay off or consolidate,” she explained.

So much for corporate assurances.

While the company still expects to grow, anything it does will take place in places other than Mineral Wells. The approximately 50 employees of the local DRS facility were reportedly told Tuesday the Mineral Wells operation will close and relocate to Florida. The Index was told 11 local employees were laid off.

Requests for comment from local facility manager Chris Lettiere as well as corporate officials in New Jersey were not returned.

The facility is located along the southeastern boundary of Mineral Wells Municipal Airport, adjacent to Downing Heliport.

Finmeccanica announced in May it was acquiring DRS for $4 billion. Finmeccanica employs 60,000 people worldwide, while Parsippany, N.J.–based DRS lists 10,000 U.S. employees. The deal is expected to close the fourth quarter of 2008.

Finmeccanica constructs both civil and military aircraft, helicopters, missiles, satellites and defense electronics. DRS is a supplier of integrated products, services and support to military forces, government agencies and prime contractors worldwide.

Just last month, DRS agreed to renew its lease agreement with Palo Pinto County for use the Dempsey Heliport.

The announcement made to local DRS employees Tuesday morning came on a day when the company issued two press releases announcing it had received a signed agreement from Aerotree Defence and Services Sdn. Bhd. Executive Director Dato’ Norida Hamzah for DRS to furnish a complete Air Combat Maneuvering Instrumentation system to the Royal Malaysian Air Force as well as another announcing the company was the recipient of $56 million in contracts from the U.S. Army’s Aviation and Missile Command at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Ala., for support of mast-mounted sights on OH-58D Kiowa Warrior armed reconnaissance helicopters.

Trading under the symbol DRS on the New York Stock Exchange, the company’s stock jumped about $15 per share in May and has stayed around the $80 dollar mark since. On Tuesday, the company’s stock was listed at $77.63 per share, down 62 cents on the day.

Index staff writer Lacie Morrison contributed to this report.