Original Date: 02/26/2001
Revision Date: 01/18/2007

In 1952, John J. Hopkins formed the General Dynamics Corporation using assets from the Electric Boat Company. Since that time, the corporation has diversified and expanded its operations in the defense and technology business sectors. Strategic acquisitions and mergers also helped strengthen its innovative capabilities, and added to its legacy of technological advancements. Today, General Dynamics Corporation has leading market positions in business aviation; information systems; shipbuilding and marine systems; and land and amphibious combat systems. The corporation is headquartered in Falls Church, Virginia; employs 46,000 personnel worldwide; and achieved $11.5 billion in net sales. This global leader operates in four core business segments: Aerospace; Combat Systems; Marine Systems; and Information Systems and Technology.

The BMP survey focused on General Dynamics Armament Systems (GDAS) (now General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products), a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics and part of the Combat Systems segment. GDAS is a solution integrator for defense products for all branches of the U.S. Department of Defense and the Ministries of Defense of over 25 allied nations worldwide. Product offerings include a broad range of armament and munitions systems. Company headquarters are in Burlington, Vermont with the Business Development Operations office located in Arlington, Virginia. The company also has facilities in Saco, Maine; Princeton, New Jersey; and Camden, Arkansas. Founded in 1948, the company underwent several changes in ownership before joining the General Dynamics family in 1997. Today, GDAS employs approximately 700 personnel among the various locations.

The Burlington headquarters is home to the functional staff of the business including the engineering and supply chain management organizations. The Saco Operations (Maine), an armament systems production and test facility, is a leading producer of small and medium caliber machine guns, cannon barrels, and complementary equipment. The Princeton Combustion Research Laboratories (New Jersey), a physics research and development facility, provides technical expertise in the fields of combustion science, gas dynamics, energetic materials, gun and rocket propulsion, demilitarization technologies, and interior ballistics analysis. The Camden HYDRA-70 Production Office (Arkansas) is residence to an integrated production management team where more than 200,000 HYDRA-70 rocket assemblies are produced annually. GDAS also operates the Ethan Allen Firing Range in Jericho, Vermont for system development, qualification, and testing of armament and ammunition. A joint venture between GDAS and Day & Zimmermann Inc. forms American Ordnance LLC, a limited liability corporation. American Ordnance has two operating units: the Milan Army Ammunition Plant in Milan, Tennessee and the Iowa Army Ammunition Plant in Middletown, Iowa.

GDAS is a government and industry leader in quality performance. Its quality motto is do it right, then make it better. The company is ISO-9001 registered, a Boeing Aerospace Silver Preferred Supplier, and has received numerous government, industry, and environmental awards. Among the best practices documented at GDAS were its Security Management; Leadership Development Program; Rapid Prototyping; Range Data Acquisition System; and Value Net Integration. Continuing in this tradition, the company is striving to strengthen its competitiveness and enrich its vision for the future. The BMP survey team considers the practices in this report to be among the best in industry and government.

TABLE OF ACRONYMS
The following acronyms were used in this report:

For more information see the Point of Contact for this survey.