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Navy Saves $22 Million In Three Months With Competitive Bidding Plan The Navy has identified $22 million in cost avoidance through opening previously sole source contracts to competition during the period April—June 1983. Since the spring of 1982, the Navy has established Competition Advocates at all major contracting activities. These Competition Ad- vocates examine all major non- competitive contracts, single out candidates for competitive bid- ding, and help contracting officers find qualified competitors. The newly appointed Competition Ad- vocate General of the Navy, Com- modore Stuart F. Piatt, Supply Corps, USN, coordinates the ef- forts of Command Competition Advocates. Typical examples are: When buying material for an ordnance alteration, the center developed a more complete technical descrip- tion permitting more vendors than just the original supplier to com- pete. A contract for 10 units was awarded for $700,000 (40 percent) less than the previous sole-source price. Another $2.3 million sav- ings is projected on future buys. A contractor, who had been the sole source for radiation measur- breakstrength of steel and V20 the weight in water! Write 762 on Reader Service Card dHU) REG US PAT &TM Off Call 1-800-527-2601. In Houston, call: 880-5638. KEVLAR aramid means lighter marine systems...less costly, easier to handle. Mow you can get the strength you need in large marine ropes for offshore oil rigs and other maritime applications-at only 1/5 the weight of steel in air and 1/20 the weight in water. In pendant applications, for example, lightweight ropes of DuPont KEVLAR aramid fiber permit use of smaller, lighter buoys (photo at right) and allow faster anchor deployment and retrieval. Significant systems cost reductions can be realized. In riser tensioner applica- tions, ropes of KEVLAR last up to 4 times longer in actual field use, due to their superior cyclic fatigue properties. Ease of handling provides important savings in in- stallation time and labor. Towing lines of KEVLAR can provide extra years of service, because of superior fatigue and corrosion resistance. Ropes of KEVLAR are unaffected by saltwater, organic solvents, drilling fluids and lubricants. Ropes of KEVLAR are available in wire rope and other constructions to meet your specific needs. For more infor- mation and a list of quality manufacturers, call the toll-free number below. Or write: DuPont Company, Room G-15465, Wilmington, DE 19898. *Du Pont registered trademark The small, less expensive buoy handles a pendant line of KEVLAR. A buoy 20 times larger in volume is needed to handle the same length of steel line. ing equipment, reduced his price by 22 percent to win a competitive contract for the equipment with savings of $54,000. A final award for switches used in a missile system was $554,000 less than the previous sole-source price. The Navy paid $1,686 in a com- petitive procurement for steam turbine washers which had been offered by the original source for $32,514. MTS Systems Awarded $9.3-Million Contract For Navy Robotic Systems MTS Systems Corporation, Min- neapolis, Minn., is being awarded a $9,340,647 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for an articulating robotic system for laser assisted metal- working. The Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity (N00014- 83-C-2226). Butterworth Names Smith Tank Cleaning Machine Product Line Coordinator Martin Smith Butterworth Systems (U.K.) Ltd., recently announced the appoint- ment of Martin Smith as Tank Cleaning Machine Product Line Coordinator. He is responsible for marketing of crude oil washing and water washing equipment for ships and for rental of portable tank cleaning and land based equipment worldwide. Butterworth Systems, an affili- ate of Exxon Corporation, parent of Esso Petroleum Co., is the pi- oneer in tank cleaning machines. Mr. Smith joined the Esso Group 17 years ago, serving in diversified marketing, sales and investment areas. He joined Butterworth Sys- tems in 1981 as regional sales manager, with responsibilities for Europe, and for Central and South Africa. Butterworth Systems provides a complete line of sophisticated equipment for tank cleaning, un- derwater hull cleaning, high pres- sure water jetting, and oil/water separation. For free literature on tank cleaning and other Butterworth Systems equipment, Write 65 on Reader Service Card 27