Constellium nets defense grant
Constellium’s Ravenswood facility receives Department of Defense grant to optimize armor plate production. Submitted photo.
Constellium nets defense grant
RAVENSWOOD, West Virginia – A regional employer which includes residents of Meigs County has received a substantial government defense grant.
According to a statement from Constellium, the company’s facility in Ravenswood has been selected by the U.S. Department of Defense for a grant of nearly $9.5 million to increase throughput, quality and performance of cold rolled aluminum.
The funding was awarded by the Department of Defense’s Cornerstone OTA and will be managed by the Army Research Laboratory (ARL) at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland. Constellium will use the funds to perform electrical, mechanical and hydraulic system upgrades to Ravenswood’s 144” cold rolling mill and add state of the art automation and process controls. The mill is critically important for the manufacture of high-performance aluminum plate for ballistic and blast protection of military vehicles. Army and Marine Corps modernization programs will require increased capacity of the U.S. industrial base to produce cold rolled plate over the next decade. In coordination with Cornerstone and ARL, Constellium will also invest in developing manufacturing processes and armor plate that will optimize the additional capacity and process controls of the upgraded mill.
“This investment by the Department of Defense will enable us to meet the increased demand for cold rolled plate over the next 5 to 10 years and also significantly improve the performance of armor against constantly evolving threats,” commented Buddy Stemple, CEO of Constellium Rolled Products Ravenswood. “We are very excited to have this opportunity to help protect our troops.”
Constellium’s Ravenswood facility is a leader in defense aluminum production, supplying a broad portfolio of rolled products to the Department of Defense and its OEM partners. With unmatched R&D capabilities and one of the premier aluminum plate lines in North America, Constellium is uniquely positioned to develop and engineer advanced, high-performance armor solutions.
