Middletown, Iowa -- The Iowa Economic Development Authority, the Greater Burlington Partnership and American Ordnance LLC, in partnership with Iowa Army Ammunition Plant, hosted a site certification announcement ceremony, here, June 14.
The ceremony marked the state of Iowa's establishment of site certification for 152 acres of developable land at Yard L on the IAAAP, owned by the U.S. Army. The partnership creates a Commerce Center of Southeast Iowa, Phase One, where commercial companies can potentially establish businesses and create jobs for the local community.
Efforts to certify the property for commercial use were promoted by Col. Joseph Chan, Project Director, Joint Services and the Joint Munitions Command Armament Retooling and Manufacturing Support program members.
The ARMS program is authorized by Congressional legislation, to encourage the commercial and government use of unused property at select Government-Owned, Contractor-Operated locations, in order to compensate for reduced production volumes and facility closures that would otherwise have an adverse impact on local communities.
The Honorable Terry Branstad, Governor of Iowa, made the announcement and noted that of the 12 sites currently certified in the state of Iowa, this new property is the only site on a federally-owned installation.
"The IAAAP has been a key member of the southeast Iowa community for the past 75 years," said Lt. Col. Aaron Wolfe, IAAAP commander, during his opening comments. "New opportunities made possible by ARMS can be a great benefit to the Burlington area and the Department of Defense."
The Iowa Army Ammunition Plant is a subordinate installation of the Joint Munitions Command, headquartered in Rock Island, Illinois. In November of 1940, 19,000 acres were acquired by the government in the Middletown area. Construction of the Iowa Ordnance Plant began in January 1941, and the first item rolled off the production line in September of 1942. The size of the IAAAP workforce has varied, from a World War II peak of 13,000 employees, to its current workforce of approximately 700 employees.
In 1963, the plant was renamed the Iowa Army Ammunition Plant, and in 1998, American Ordnance, LLC, became the operating contractor. American Ordnance performs load, assemble and pack operations at the Middletown facility.
"For the past 18 years, we've been delivering munitions and explosives," said John McGuiness, president, American Ordnance. These efforts potentially "create jobs and reduces the costs for the ammunition provided to the Warfighters."
JMC produces small-, medium- and large-caliber ammunition items for the Department of Defense. JMC is the sustainment and logistics integrator for life-cycle management of ammunition and provides a global presence of technical support to U.S. combat units wherever they are stationed or deployed.
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