With all the commotion surrounding Northrop Grumman Corp.’s shocking victory over Boeing Co. to replace the Air Force’s aerial refueling tankers (see article on page 5), it’s easy to overlook several significant announcements Northrop has made recently.
The Los Angeles-based defense contractor will team with Loral Space & Communications Inc. to pursue new opportunities to build satellites for the government. The two companies hope the partnership will help them penetrate a lucrative market dominated by Boeing and Lockheed Martin Corp.
New York-based Loral, which specializes in low-cost commercial satellites, and Northrop, a leader in expensive military spy satellites, hope to marry their abilities in a mutually beneficial way.
Alexis Livanos, Northrop’s corporate vice president and president of its space technology sector, said the alliance will help Northrop bring down the cost of its satellites, which will help it win additional contracts in the coming years.
“The resulting strategic agreement will be important to increasing our competitiveness,” Livanos said in a statement.
For Loral, the partnership increases its profile considerably and expands its production capabilities.
Work will be done at Northrop’s Redondo Beach facilities.
But Paul Nisbet, an analyst with JSA Research, was skeptical about whether the move will help put Northrop on the same level as Boeing and Lockheed.
“I don’t know if it will have much bearing” on the company’s standing, he said.
Separately, the company announced last week a government contract to design and build a cluster of wirelessly connected satellites. The value of the contract was not disclosed.
Construction Contracts
Tetra Tech Inc., a Pasadena engineering and consulting company, has won several lucrative construction contracts.
Tetra Tech announced contracts worth a combined $150 million to help build three wind energy projects in Wyoming. The award comes just after the company announced a deal to support military construction across the world.
Work will begin on the wind projects immediately and is expected to be completed by December. Each of the wind farms will feature 66 turbines, generating nearly 100 megawatts of power.
Dan Batrack, Tetra Tech chief executive, said the company is increasing its profile in the wind energy industry, with about 70 projects under its belt.
The company was one of multiple contractors selected by the Air Force for an engineering program worth up to $3 billion. Tetra Tech did not disclose the value of its contract, but it could be significant for the $1 billion company.
Generating Business
Aura Systems Inc., a small El Segundo manufacturer of generators for hybrid and electric vehicles, is growing out of its current quarters.
The company, which last week received an order for 1,000 of its generators, announced it will move to new production facilities in El Segundo to better accommodate its increasing business.
The company sells primarily to hybrid car manufacturers and the military, and the company anticipates several new military contracts in the coming months.
Foreign Growth
Spacelabs Healthcare, a division of Hawthorne-based OSI Systems Inc., is increasing its profile overseas, announcing last week the opening of a new manufacturing facility in Suzhou, China.
The 55,000-square-foot facility will make health care products for emerging markets. Spacelabs manufactures medical products for a variety of uses, including anesthesia delivery and patient monitoring.
The division also announced a $1.1 million contract with a South American hospital for patient monitors.
Additionally, a pair of industry surveys the ServiceTrak Patient Monitoring Systems and Service Quality Benchmark surveys both ranked Spacelabs as the leader in service satisfaction among patient monitor providers.
Executive Appointments
Van Nuys-based Superior Industries International Inc., which makes aluminum wheels for most major automotive companies, has a couple of new faces in upper management.
The company named Erika Turner chief financial officer and Michael O’Rourke executive vice president.
Turner was previously chief financial officer of Monogram Systems, a Carson-based aerospace supplier.
O’Rourke, who first joined Superior Industries in 1987, was previously the company’s senior vice president of sales and administration.
Staff reporter Richard Clough can be reached at (323) 549-5225, ext. 251, or at
[email protected]
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