Massive armor needs trigger industry gold rush.A steady stream of military contracts for armored vehicles has set off a flurry of industry takeovers and lash-ups that would have been inconceivable only a few years ago. Just in recent weeks, the industry has undergone a gradual metamorphosis. One of the Army's major truck manufacturers, Stewart & Stevenson, was acquired by an armor supplier, Armor Holdings. Another armor provider, Ceradyne Inc., entered the vehicle market with the introduction of a new line of commercial armored trucks. Oshkosh Truck Oshkosh Truck NYSE: OSK, is a manufacturer of specialty trucks and truck bodies for defense, industrial and fire emergency applications. It is based in Oshkosh, Wisconsin and employs about 7,000 people worldwide in five countries. Corporation, which dominates the Marine Corps' truck market, signed an agreement with an Australian firm to sell the Bushmaster bushmaster, large venomous snake, Lachesis muta, of Central America and N South America. It is a member of the pit viper family, which also includes the rattlesnake. The largest New World snake, it reaches a length of 8 to 12 ft (2.5–5.5 m). armored vehicle in North America North America, third largest continent (1990 est. pop. 365,000,000), c.9,400,000 sq mi (24,346,000 sq km), the northern of the two continents of the Western Hemisphere. . Defense industry giant Lockheed Martin For the former company, see . Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) is a leading multinational aerospace manufacturer and advanced technology company formed in 1995 by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta. purchased a British firm so it could secure the design rights for an armored vehicle it wants to sell to the U.S. military. As one industry watcher points out, "When was the last time that trucks were this interesting?" |
|
||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion