Industry News
General Dynamics Awarded US$13 Million Contract for Abrams Spare Parts
The U.S. Army TACOM Lifecycle Management Command has awarded General Dynamics Land Systems, a business unit of General Dynamics, a US$13 million contract for spare parts for the M1A2 Abrams tank continuous electronics evolution program.
The M1A2 Systems Enhancement Package platform is the latest, most technologically advanced Abrams tank. It has the latest command and control system, second-generation thermal sights and improved armor. This contract aligns with the overall M1A2 SEP tank upgrade program to integrate new information technologies to improve soldier warfighting capability with enhanced command and control features like color maps and displays, high-density computer memory, increased microprocessing speed and networked communications.
Work is slated to begin immediately and will be performed in Sterling Heights, Tallahassee, Fla., and Eynon, Pa., by existing General Dynamics employees. Work is expected to be completed by July 31, 2007.
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NOAA Awards Lockheed Martin $10 Million Contract
Lockheed Martin has been awarded a US$10 million, six-month contract by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for the Program Definition and Risk Reduction (PDRR) phase of the nation’s next-generation environmental satellite system, GOES-R. The contract has two options priced at an additional $10 million each.
NOAA’s Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) program has a 30-year history of success in observing and predicting the intensity and track of severe storms in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, providing data for daily and long-range weather forecasting, and climate studies. In addition to the Earth-observing instruments, the GOES satellites also carry solar instruments that provide advance warning of events on the Sun, such as solar flares, that can impact life on Earth.
These next generation GOES-R satellites will carry instruments that offer dramatic improvements in our ability to observe the Earth and the Sun and will lead to more accurate predictions of the intensity and landfall of hurricanes with longer lead times than today, significantly improving weather forecasts. Scientists will be able to use new observations to monitor the variability of atmospheric constituents associated with air quality and climate change. The aviation weather community will also benefit from more accurate upper level wind measurements, better predictions of clear air turbulence events, and an improved ability to detect and track volcanic ash that can damage jet engines.
In addition, GOES-R will field new capabilities. The satellites will carry a coastal waters imager capability that will view the entire U.S. coastline every three hours at high resolution. This instrument will be used to evaluate the ocean’s biological productivity, detect harmful algae blooms, and assess coastal zones after severe storms for protection of fragile ecosystems. These new and augmented capabilities provided by GOES-R will lead to significant economic benefits to the nation in the areas of weather and water, climate, ecosystems monitoring and management, and commerce and transportation.
The GOES-R team assembled by Lockheed Martin brings together the best assets available across the corporation, and throughout industry and academia, providing the in-depth experience and capabilities necessary to successfully execute the GOES-R program.
LMSSC leads the GOES-R program team and is responsible for the space segment. Lockheed Martin Integrated Systems & Solutions (IS&S) provides the systems integration and ground segment. Fifteen industry and academic partners chosen for the Lockheed Martin team based on their proven performance, bring additional domain expertise and key enabling technologies to the GOES-R effort.
Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company, a major operating unit of Lockheed Martin Corporation, designs, develops, tests, manufactures and operates a variety of advanced technology systems for military, civil and commercial customers. Chief products include a full-range of space launch systems, including heavy-lift capability, ground systems, remote sensing and communications satellites for commercial and government customers, advanced space observatories and interplanetary spacecraft, fleet ballistic missiles and missile defense systems.
Lockheed Martin Integrated Systems & Solutions (IS&S) closely aligns competencies and resources to address customer needs for horizontally-integrated, net-centric solutions. IS&S is composed of eight customer-focused lines of business and six teams of subject matter experts that draw upon vast expertise throughout Lockheed Martin to provide customers with the system-of-systems capabilities they need to support complex net-centric operations.
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EDS Creates New Office of the Chief Operating Officer
Representatives of EDS announced it has established an Office of the Chief Operating Officer (COO) to increase alignment and drive change throughout its business operations.
The Office of the Chairman, which comprises Chairman and CEO Mike Jordan and President Jeff Heller, will continue to oversee all functions of the enterprise. The Office of the COO, which comprises Steve Schuckenbrock, promoted to Co-COO and executive vice president of Global Sales & Client Solutions, and Ron Rittenmeyer, promoted to Co-COO and executive vice president of Global Service Delivery, will report to the Office of the Chairman with responsibility for the company’s client-facing operating units and Service Delivery Centers.
Schuckenbrock and Rittenmeyer will retain their current functional roles, while adding joint responsibility for driving business development, functional alignment and change through EDS’ operating structure – including its regional leadership teams, the NMCI, GM, U.S. Government and Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) units.
All other functions currently reporting to Jordan and Heller, including Portfolio Management, Finance, Legal, Human Resources and Communications, will continue to report to the Office of the Chairman.
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Rockwell Automation Establishes Asia-Pacific Business Center in Singapore
Representatives of Rockwell Automation announced that the company will establish an Asia-Pacific Business Center in Singapore, consisting of select business management, engineering, and manufacturing operations. The center will be fully operational by 2008.
The center will initially be comprised of several business segments that are in demand in Asia, and highly strategic to the company's global growth. They include: Small PLC Platforms, Distributed Input/Output, Component Operator Displays and Component Drives. In addition, a product development center will be established there along with coordination of associated design and manufacturing partners.
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Ericsson Wins Push E-mail Contract with MobileCom in Jordan
Ericsson's push e-mail solution, Ericsson Mobile Organizer (EMO), has been chosen by MobileCom, a leading cellular operator in Jordan. EMO offers "push" access to Personal Information Management (PIM) applications. With this deal, MobileCom is breaking new ground for mobile data services in the Middle East region.
Ericsson's three-year contract with MobileCom is the first of its kind in the kingdom of Jordan. Consequently, MobileCom becomes the first operator to offer its subscribers easy-to-use wireless access to personal and business e-mail and other PIM data, such as calendar and contacts, while on the move.
EMO links mobile phones and other handheld devices instantaneously and directly with web-mail applications by activating GPRS/EDGE technologies. The service will be integrated, hosted and managed from Ericsson's operations center in Rome.
Using the solution, MobileCom will empower its mobile users with value-added professional mobile services. Ericsson helps make this possible by providing the service in a manner that is not only simple and cost-efficient for the operator but also only requires a short time-to-market. This confirms the operator's focus on the corporate enterprise sector paving the way for a leading position in the market.
Because the service delivery of push e-mail and PIM will be secured through an Ericsson hosted service, MobileCom will be able focus on marketing and customer related issues whilst Ericsson will ensure continuous high functionality and reliability of the service, making the commercial launch immediately available.
Hosting is a part of Ericsson's managed services offering. The global trend towards managed services is accelerating as operators and vendors work in partnership to reduce costs and bring new services to market as quickly as possible. Ericsson has officially announced over 50 managed services contracts with operators worldwide.
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IBM Acquires the Business of iPhrase Systems, Inc.
Representatives of IBM announced the company has acquired the business of iPhrase Systems, Inc., a privately held company based in Bedford, Massachusetts. Financial details were not disclosed.
iPhrase develops software that improves e-commerce sales, online service and support, and call center productivity by allowing Web site users to more easily find answers, make purchases and solve problems without expert assistance. For example, retailers use iPhrase technology to help interpret and understand online customer queries, even if they are misspelled or contain jargon, thereby improving their ability to increase sales by delivering pertinent product information. iPhrase software also enables merchandisers to dynamically generate customized Web pages with relevant products and shopping cart links, based on individual customer needs.
This acquisition strengthens IBM's information management software portfolio by broadening its enterprise search and content management capabilities -- key components of IBM's strategy to help clients deliver information as a service. iPhrase software will enable IBM to provide customers and partners with enhanced technologies that quickly discover inherent meaning from a wide variety of data and content, and deliver the right information to the right people at the right time.
iPhrase is the fifteenth software acquisition IBM has made since 2001 in support of its initiative to deliver information as a service. The strategy takes advantage of IBM's storage, server, information and content management software, consulting and Research expertise to help customers free up all kinds of data -- such as e-mails, Web pages, blogs, podcasts, audio, images, video, etc. -- regardless of format or structure, and turn them into useful, industry-specific services that perform business functions.
iPhrase's technology is compliant with Unstructured Information Management Architecture, the emerging standard developed by IBM Research that provides an open framework for the composition of sophisticated analytic applications that discover and leverage meaning from unstructured information.
iPhrase software can tailor information specifically for the industry or domain in which it is used, providing a higher-level understanding of user queries. It adapts findings and results and presents them in a format that is easy to use and understand. iPhrase software complements IBM's existing technology for delivering information in context through search and text analysis of enterprise databases, content management systems, file systems, collaboration systems and external web sites.
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Intel Opens 65nm, 300mm High-Volume Wafer Manufacturing Facility In Arizona
Intel Corporation has re-opened an advanced, high-volume semiconductor manufacturing facility in Chandler, Ariz., converting it to a leading-edge 300mm, 65nm process factory. Called Fab 12, the factory is Intel’s second volume-production fab using 65nm process technology produced on the industry’s largest wafer size (300mm), which provides the Intel fab with the potential to generate the world’s highest microprocessor output at the lowest cost. It is also the most technologically advanced, high-volume semiconductor manufacturing plant in the world building multi-core microprocessors.
The Fab 12 conversion project, which began in 2004 and cost roughly $2 billion, was completed in approximately 18 months. Fab 12 is Intel’s fifth fab using 300mm wafers.
Intel has the largest network of advanced 300mm wafer fabs in the industry. Intel’s other facilities that manufacture using 300mm wafers are Fab 11X in New Mexico, D1D and D1C in Oregon, and Fab 24 in Ireland.
Fab 12’s re-opening is the latest in a string of six Intel announcements regarding re-investment in its U.S. manufacturing sites. In total, the announcements made in 2005 reflect a combination of more than $4 billion of new U.S.-based manufacturing expansion announced this year and completion of this $2 billion investment announced in 2004. These investments will add over 2,000 jobs (not including construction jobs).
This project, which extends Intel’s presence in Arizona, capitalizes on the area’s highly skilled workforce. As part of the conversion project, Intel sent over 800 Fab 12 employees to other Intel fabs, including in Ireland, Oregon and New Mexico, during the construction phase to obtain advanced training on the newest tools and cutting edge 300mm technology.
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LG Electronics, Nortel Launch Joint Ventures for Telecom, Networking
LG Electronics and Nortel closed the transaction announced in August that forms a joint venture between the two companies. The joint venture, named LG-Nortel Co. Ltd., will offer leading-edge communications and networking solutions in the wireline, optical, wireless and enterprise markets in South Korea and the rest of the world.
Nortel and LGE have already successfully collaborated to win significant contracts in South Korea since the announcement in January of a Memorandum of Understanding concerning the joint venture. Within the last three months, LG and Nortel have been selected to deploy HSDPA/WCDMA networks for KTF and SKT, paving the way for the joint venture to become a major 3G supplier in one of the most advanced telecommunications markets in the world.
LG-Nortel's headquarters will be in South Korea, with sales and marketing located in Kangnam, Seoul; R&D facilities in Anyang in the province of Gyeonggi; and an employee population of approximately 1,400. LG-Nortel also announced the appointment of J.R. Lee from LGE as chief executive officer, Paul House from Nortel as chief operating officer, Peter Dans from Nortel as chief financial officer, and C.H. Hwang from LGE as chief technology officer.
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Raytheon Awarded Information Assurance Contract by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
Raytheon Company has been awarded a competitive performance based, cost-plus-award fee contract to provide information assurance (IA) services to the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA). Financial terms were not disclosed.
The IA services will consist of program management, life cycle planning, intrusion detection and prevention, information system security, public key technical support and IA special projects including studies, analyses, recommendations and support for the protection of NGA computer systems, networks and infrastructure.
The work will be performed at NGA facilities in the greater Washington, D.C., and St. Louis, Mo., metropolitan areas. Work will be conducted over a five-year period ending in September 2010.
