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SPD Looks To Expand Product Lines To Adapt To Changing Defense Market Reductions in military spending are having adverse effects on de- fense contractors, particularly smaller companies which are totally dedicated to the military market. Such is the case with SPD Tech- nologies, a large producer of mili- tary circuit breakers and switch- gear, and its subsidiaries, Henschel, which designs and manufactures ship control and interior communi- cations systems, and PacOrd, which specializes in ship repair and over- haul services. "Even though we have leadership positions in our respective product categories, the shrinkage in the market puts us in a life-threatening situation," commented George M. Gordon, the company's chief exec- utive officer. "We're not about to abandon the military market," said George M. Gordon, chief executive officer of SPD Technologies. "First of all, our products are critically important to the nation's defense, and we have been faithfully serving this market for more than 75 years—MIL-SPEC engineering and manufacturing is what we know best and do best," said Mr. Gordon. According to Mr. Gordon, SPD has instituted several major initia- tives to diversify and expand its products and services to the marine market. First, SPD is seeking to acquire new lines of military hardware that fit with its totally integrated manu- facturing framework. "We're talking to companies with relatively significant product lines, up to $30 million or so, which simply don't fit strategically in current long-range plans," said Mr. Gor- don. He indicated that SPD is inter- ested in the fabrication or assembly of virtually any type of mechanical or electromechanical systems or components. Included among the types of lines being considered are motor controllers and motor control centers, power conversion and regu- lating equipment, transformers, rec- tifiers and power switching equip- ment. SPD's fully integrated manufac- turing plants in Philadelphia and Newburyport, Mass., and a highly experienced team of engineers and technicians, lend particularly well to bringing in contract fabrication and assembly. The facilities include virtually all types of machining equipment, welding, compression molding, heat treating, plating, painting, assembly and testing. Second, SPD has intensified its internal product development ef- forts. For example, the company has developed an advanced new com- puterized all-cell battery monitor- ing system which has now been suc- cessfully applied by the Canadian Navy. In addition, SPD has accelerated the expansion of its technology in the development of the first elec- tronically controlled 100-ampere military circuit breaker to other types of small molded case break- ers. • Actmrilio2 ;i9 grr""""!.' SPD Technologies i iSTaidWBiNHiP Actron 102, SPD Technologies' new 100- amp circuit breaker. SPD also expects more growth from its role in the U.S. Navy's inte- grated electric drive program. The company is working under a $6.7- million contract to produce a 5,000- volt switchgear as a subcontractor to GE for use on the first IED vessel. At the same time, SPD is looking at expanding into commercial appli- cations with its products. SPD and Henschel engineers are evaluating (continued) GALBRAITH-PILOT MARINE™ SUPPLYING RELIABLE MILITARY ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS DESIGNED TO MEET THE MOST EXACTING MILITARY SPECIFICATIONS FOR OVER 40 YEARS! O WHAT DO THESE SUBS ** HAVE IN COMMON? 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