FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                     Contact: Gretchen M. Wintermantel
June 30, 2004                                                                                    202-225-6511 

Chamberlain Earns $18.5 Million Contract to Produce Artillery Ammunition at Scranton Plant

WASHINGTON -- Congressmen Paul E. Kanjorski (PA-11^th  District) and Don Sherwood (PA-10^th District) announced today that the Chamberlain Manufacturing Corporation has been awarded an $18.5 million Army contract to produce artillery rounds at the Scranton Army Ammunition Plant.

The one-year contract to produce 130,961 metal bodies for the 155-millimeter M107 HE artillery round also includes two option years which could mean future production at Chamberlain, depending on available funding.   The 2005 defense appropriations bill moving through Congress contains $64 million for the Army to purchase 245,000  M107 rounds next year, and $9 million for the  Marine Corps to purchase 32,876 M107 rounds.  

"This new contract will help us keep employment levels stable at the Chamberlain plant while building up our artillery inventories to necessary levels," said Congressman Sherwood.  "The skilled workers at the Scranton plant are an important part of our ammunition industrial base.  Their capabilities and the efficiencies they have achieved in Scranton give our soldiers the best ammunition at the lowest cost."

"I am pleased that the federal government recognizes the quality workmanship and level of experience that has been a tradition at Chamberlain for more than 80 years. This contract allows the plant to sustain a workload that insures employment stability, which in turn generates a stable economy," Congressman Kanjorski said.

The M107 is one of the most widely used U.S. artillery projectiles, and is a key part of the inventory for training and combat.  The M107, first approved for use in 1958, is less expensive than newer rounds which have increased capabilities but cost more to produce.

The Chamberlain plant restarted its M107 production line in 1999 and is in the process of completing a five-year contract which totaled more than $100 million for metal parts production.  Today's $18.5 million contract also includes two option years.

A total of 349 people are employed at the Scranton plant, which is a government-owned facility run by the Chamberlain Manufacturing Corporation.
                                          

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