Original Date: 07/13/1992
Revision Date: 01/18/2007

U.S. Army - Watervliet Arsenal (WVA) is the 142-acre home to a government-owned and government-operated manufacturing facility. As a component of the Army Armament, Munitions and Chemical Command, WVA's products include tank cannon, artillery cannon, battleship guns, marine drives, scissor bridges, and rocket motors. This 72-building arsenal encompasses over 1.2 million square feet of manufacturing space and employs almost 2,000 personnel.

WVA's impressive capabilities allow it to employ the latest manufacturing technologies to support rapid design, development, and testing of new products. It has extensive capabilities in metalworking as well as specialized processes. The Arsenal underwent a substantial modernization program called Renovation of Armament Manufacturing (REARM) in the 1980s, which included building new facilities, procuring new manufacturing equipment, and implementing a new training program. In addition, a computer-integrated manufacturing program was initiated which includes shop floor and above-the-shop-floor systems.

Today, WVA continues to support enhanced customer service through product and service diversification. It supports the Navy's Manufacturing Technology program, and is pursuing many new programs including the establishment of a teaching factory to extend training for WVA personnel and others in industry and academia.

WVA is also home to the Army's Benet Laboratories, part of the Army Research, Development, and Engineering Center at Picatinny, NJ. Benet maintains the primary mission of development of advanced cannon. Benet performs scientific and engineering activities which range from basic research through design for producibility. It is responsible for the research, design, and development of tank cannon, tank mounts, tank autoloaders, artillery cannon, mortars, recoilless rifles and tank turret items. It also provides engineering support for the production of these items. Benet's collocation with the production facilities at WVA provides an excellent opportunity for concurrent engineering and rapid prototyping.

The outbreak of peace in the world with the demise of the Soviet Union has resulted in massive cutbacks in defense spending and the reduction or elimination of large segments of military forces. Other changes such as new technologies and future combat scenarios are expected to reduce or eliminate the need for the cannon-related products at WVA. These upheavals in the defense environment are driving the need for rapid change and adaptability at WVA. Historically, WVA has monopolized the U.S. cannon market. Because of the relatively stable historical demand for cannon products, issues such as future survivability of the Arsenal, product mix, and new market development were not addressed.

Now, however, WVA is adapting for survivability. The Arsenal recently completed a large scale facilities modernization and manufacturing capability enhancement. The Arsenal is also aggressively marketing ordnance to all DoD components, not just the army. WVA is expanding into new market opportunities such as services and selling technology. Because of the changes in the global environment and WVA's response to that situation are recent, many of the changes instituted are recent -- many of the changes are in the planning or implementation phases. This was a significant consideration factory in the presentations given to the BMP Survey Team. Many items described as "information" are in actuality best practices that have not been completely implemented.

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

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