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Military Contractor Picks Cypress for Base

A New Jersey defense contractor has a new vision for its Southern California operations.

Parsippany, N.J.-based DRS Technolo-gies Inc., which makes military equipment such as night-vision gear, is consolidating its Torrance and Anaheim operations at a 95,000-square-foot plant in Cypress.

The move brings together engineers working on the same technology and helps DRS Technologies cut down extra space it’s been carrying in the wake of previous job cuts in the area.

The consolidation, expected to be completed by the end of this month, will put about 200 people in Cypress, with 80 coming from Torrance and the rest from Anaheim.

The Cypress site is the new headquarters of DRS Technologies’ sensors and targeting systems unit, part of the company’s Surveillance and Reconnaissance group.

The sensors and targeting unit was created after DRS Technologies bought Boeing Co.’s sensors and electronics systems unit in Anaheim for $60.1 million in late 2001.

The unit designs and makes night vision technology and devices that help machines and soldiers locate and identify targets during battles.






Bradley tank: DRS Technologies building infrared sighting and targeting system

The company also provides satellite-based search technology.

DRS Technologies chose Cypress for its location midway between Torrance and Anaheim, said Robert Viviano, DRS Technologies’ vice president and general manager of local operations.

“We attempted to impact people as little as possible,” Viviano said.

The Cypress building includes some 60,000 square feet in laboratory facilities and 35,000 square feet for general office space. Cypress is better suited for the company than the Torrance site, which was next to a mall, Viviano said.

“It’s not what I would consider an aerospace environment,” Viviano said.

Officials say the move finally brings together engineers who work on similar infrared technology.

“Putting everyone under one roof will promote more sharing of ideas,” said Patricia Williams, a spokeswoman with DRS Technologies.

The new facility also will complete a real estate and employee shuffle aimed at streamlining costs that began after the 2001 acquisition.

In 2002 the company shifted manufacturing operations and about 200 jobs to Texas and Florida. This left DRS Technologies with more than 100,000 square feet at the Anaheim site,about 75,000 square feet more than it was using. The company had about 50,000 square feet in Torrance.

The unit has faced challenges in the past few years.

DRS Technologies grew its local operations to as many as 250 employees amid the defense industry boom post-Sept. 11, 2001. But when contracts slowed in the past few years, the company cut about 50 workers from its Southland operations.

Viviano said some new orders could push employment back to 250 workers in the next few years. But he didn’t want to speculate whether the unit would grow beyond that.

Publicly traded DRS Technologies doesn’t disclose sales and profit for the local sensors and targeting unit. But in a corporate presentation last month, DRS Technologies said the sensors unit had revenue of $81.9 million for the 12 months following the 2001 acquisition. That was down from $108.3 million in the 12 months prior to the acquisition, though the unit swung from an operating loss of $4.4 million to a profit of $10 million in the period.

Overall, DRS Technologies posted a 33% gain in sales to $1.3 billion for the 12 months through March 31. Its operating income grew 39% to $143 million.

The company’s shares are up about 70% in the past year. At a recent price of $47, DRS Technologies has a market value of more than $1.3 billion.

The company looks strong,and the infrared technology unit is no exception, analysts said.

“Judging from the order flows, all of the things that they make have healthy demand and order growth,” said Mary Anne Sudol, an analyst with Caris & Co. in New York.

Last year, the sensors unit won a $252 million pact over several years to provide night-vision display screens for military vehicles.

The devices let soldiers see without visible light at night, in bad weather and during battles, the company said. They are set to be installed on tanks, humvees and trucks.

Other contract wins include infrared sighting and targeting systems for the military’s Bradley tanks.

The unit’s inexpensive night-vision devices have been a hit among Pentagon officials looking to keep costs low under Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

The technology has given U.S. soldiers an advantage over its enemies in Iraq and Afghanistan, said John Pike, director of GlobalSecurity.org in Alexandria, Va.

“These types of technologies allow them to operate in the night nearly as well as they do in the day,” Pike said.

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