Delivering Army Tanker Parts on Accelerated Timing to Support Troops

CHALLENGE

During the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts, the U.S military needed additional armored tankers to protect soldiers and committed millions of dollars to a high-priority, fast turnaround project to produce them. They awarded the project to one of our customers, who in turn was tasked with finding contract manufacturers that could help them produce and deliver hundreds of units in just three months. The customer needed a contract manufacturer that could ramp up in just five weeks, while meeting the high-quality U.S government and military specifications. They needed a contract manufacturer they could trust to get the job done right, as the consequences of failure was high. “We felt very pressured to find the right company for such a big and important project to best equip our soldiers,” stated the PM of the customer.

SOLUTION

The customer sent RFPs to three contract manufacturers who they believed could successfully complete a highly spec’d project and manufacture the rear section of the HEMTT A4 Fuel Servicing Truck with a fast turnaround, that also could manage precise delivery timing so the overall manufacturing process stayed on track. Ultimately, they chose The Metalworking Group (MWG). Our Weld Expertise, past performance, and MIL Certifications all gave them confidence and they knew they could trust MWG to execute. The customer understood our dedication and commitment to excellence and ability to deliver quality components. This trust was very important while partnering for this $2.1 million project.

APPROACH

MWG leveraged our internal cross-functional expertise to create a rapid response plan in order to deliver the project. The engineering team ensured that they had all Quality and MIL certifications, a critical component to any military project like this one. A project manager was assigned to progress check daily to ensure key milestones were being hit. One of MWG main priorities was producing to the exact specifications required by the government. MWG insured every component being produced was precise to meet the quality standards and deliver the project on time. MWG met the standards by developing a robust Quality/Inspection Plan that yielded the correct results MWG was able to handle all of the logistics of production and delivery, making for a smooth and efficient process, including:

• Adding Capacity & Personnel
• Certifying Welders for high volume Production
• Securing Space
• Developing appropriate Shipping Dunnage

Brian Dubay, President at MWG stated “being tasked with such an important project to protect our soldiers made it an honor to collaborate with the customer on such a critical project.”

RESULTS

MWG successfully delivered the project within 3 months, and delivered all the parts to the exact government specifications. 27 components and sub-assemblies were produced for the 262 armored tankers. MWG helped deliver quality parts on tankers that helped soldiers have successful missions to keep our country safe and save lives. MWG also ensured that there were: • 100% error free quality parts • Delivered on time The VP of Purchasing concluded, “After this project, I trust that MWG will deliver high quality components on time and to the exact specifications required.” In the future, the customer knows they can trust MWG to get a big project done to the exact specifications they need, making them top priority for projects in the future.