Rock Island Arsenal-JMTC named a Center of Excellence for foundry operations

ROCK ISLAND ARSENAL, Ill. (Feb. 19, 2013) -- Secretary of the Army John McHugh designated Rock Island Arsenal Joint Manufacturing and Technology Center as a Center of Industrial and Technical Excellence for Foundry operations.

In a memo from McHugh, he writes, "RIA-JMTC (Rock Island Arsenal Joint Manufacturing and Technology Center) possesses skills and capabilities related to foundry operations not shared by other industrial facilities in the Army. The RIA-JMTC operates the Army's only foundry and maintains proficiency in a number of metal processing methods."

Center of Industrial and Technical Excellence, or CITE, certification will allow RIA-JMTC to enter into private/public partnerships to perform work, which will enhance its core competency in foundry operations.

"Our foundry makes Rock Island Arsenal-JMTC truly a unique place in the Department of Army," said Col. James O. Fly Jr., commander of the Rock Island Arsenal Joint Manufacturing and Technology Center. "The foundry allows us to take raw material and turn it into a product that has a direct impact to the Soldier on the battlefield, all under one roof. This all is done by the skilled workforce here at the arsenal."

"This solidifies RIA-JMTC as the one stop shop for metal manufacturing for the warfighters," said Edward Flinn, director of Hot Metals at RIA-JMTC. "Adding this partnering authority gives us a greater opportunity to reach for support further into the private sector."

The Rock Island Arsenal foundry is a gateway operation that converts raw material, combined with precise alloys, into net or near net-shaped configurations. This is the only remaining foundry within the Department of Army. It is a full-service facility capable of full scale production. The facility has full metallurgical and non-destructive testing support and is a member of the American Foundry Society.

This is the third CITE that was awarded to RIA-JMTC. In July 2012, Rock Island Arsenal-JMTC was named a CITE for add-on-armor design, development and prototype fabrication. In May 2009, the arsenal was named a CITE for mobile maintenance systems.

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