By Dan McCue
Staff Writer

Protected Vehicles Inc., of North Charleston, and Force Protection Industries Inc. of Ladson, are two of nine companies across the United States awarded part of a competitive contract to help develop the next generation of mine-resistant armored vehicles for the U.S. Marine Corps.

The contract, and the significant vehicle orders that could follow, is seen as an outgrowth of President George W. Bush’s plan to send an additional 20,000 troops to Iraq to quell sectarian violence there.

The company or companies whose vehicles are selected could ultimately be asked to build as many as 4,000 vehicles by December 2007.

But if the contractee’s mission is noteworthy, so is the process. In a significant departure from the recent past, when contracts for similar vehicles were awarded directly to Force Protection, maker of the Buffalo and Cougar mine-protection vehicles, this is the first time the contract for the armored vehicles has been put out for competitive bid.

“This is essentially a case of the requirement being so large, and the contract to fulfill the needs so large, that the U.S. Marine Corps Systems Command had to compete the contract to fulfill the bidding requirements of the federal government,” said Michael Aldrich, vice president for marketing and government relations at Force Protection.

“Rest assured, however, that the system command’s program is based on our vehicles. The only difference is that they’ve invited some world-class contractors to compete for the production order, and we wish our brothers down the road well.”

The contract is the first awarded to that “brother,” Protected Vehicles Inc., which was founded in December 2005, said Drew Felty, the company’s program manager.

The U.S. Marine Corps Systems Command, based in Quantico, Va., awarded the contracts for 36 Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles on Jan. 26. Under the initial contract, each of the companies will produce two vehicles in each of two distinct categories for test and evaluation at the Aberdeen Proving Grounds in Maryland.

The first category of vehicles must be designed for urban combat and must be able to carry six soldiers and their gear. The second category of vehicle is intended for longer troop transfers and special missions, and must have a capacity of at least 10 soldiers.

Speaking of the mission the vehicles will support, Aldrich said he didn’t know of a more important program in Washington, D.C.

“This is our best opportunity in regard to controlling the land and supporting the independently elected government in Iraq,” he said. “That’s why there’s great pressure on all parties concerned, from the taxpayer to the warfighter to the politician to the acquisition community to the manufacturers, to deliver as many of these valuable vehicles as possible as quickly as we can.”

Ironically, Felty believes that tall order gives Protected Vehicles something of a competitive advantage.

“Being a new company and a smaller company, it’s not as hard for us to focus our attention on a custom type of vehicle like this as it would be for a larger company,” Felty said.

But Aldrich is giving no quarter.

“When it comes to a contract like this, the thing that gets people’s attention is its size,” he said. “The reality, however, is that only a small percentage of the contract award actually pays for the system the Defense Department is ordering; a far great percentage of the contract award is dedicated to things like maintaining the vehicles, spare parts, training and educational materials for the warfighter in the field.

“Another small percentage is also earmarked for ongoing research and development. It would build the case for one manufacturer to handle the project using as many production facilities as possible. Of course, the quickest way to lose a Defense Department contract is to tell it how it should administer its programs.”

Felty said if awarded even a piece of the contract, Protected Vehicles, which currently has 110 employees, will grow rapidly.

Dan McCue is a staff writer for the Business Journal. E-mail him at dmccue@charlestonbusiness.com.

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