The Lynchburg branch of Harris Corp. has received a $9.2 million extension to a contract to provide radio communication systems for U.S. Navy ships, the Department of Defense announced Wednesday.
The extension was added to an existing $30 million contract the Lynchburg division of Tyco Electronics had before Harris Corp. bought the division.
Steve Frackleton, Harris’s local director of marketing and communications, said the Lynchburg wireless business has had similar contracts with the Navy since 1994. “It’s been a good contract for us over the years.”
The company has installed its HYDRA radio systems on more than 70 Navy ships, including aircraft carriers, supply ships, amphibious assault ships and surface combatants. The radio systems designed in Lynchburg operate communication systems across entire ships, Frackleton said.
“A typical aircraft carrier would have about 600 of these handheld radios on board,” he said. “In addition to the radios themselves, there are the repeaters and then an antenna system that runs below decks, above decks, that gives them coverage throughout the ship.”
The current contract began about five years ago. Under the contract, Harris employees refurbish the radio systems when ships come in from deployment.
“Prior to the end of the five years, (the Navy) had spent the allotted sum of money so they asked for an extension on that contract,” Frackleton said.
Harris does not need to build up its workforce to handle the contract extension, but it is still hiring in Lynchburg. It has openings for administrative, engineering, finance and other positions, he said. Harris has about 600 employees in the Lynchburg area.
Florida-based Harris Corp. bought Tyco Electronics’ wireless systems business, including the Lynchburg and Forest locations, last year. Since then, the company has continued to grow.
“From the overall business standpoint, it’s been a successful acquisition and a good thing for Lynchburg,” Frackleton said.
On Wednesday, Harris reported that its profits were up in the quarter ended April 2, the third quarter of its fiscal year. The company had net income of $166.2 million, compared to $114.2 million in the same quarter of 2009.
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