CHARLOTTE - Workers at Spartan Chassis were commended Wednesday for helping to produce new "life-saving" vehicles for the military in record time.
BAE Systems PLC, the contractor charged with building some of the U.S. military's Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (or MRAP) vehicles, honored the unit of Spartan Motors for its subcontract work for the British company.
"The fact that people can ride in these vehicles and feel safe makes it a lot easier to do the job they have to do," said Matt Riddle, vice president of Wheeled Combat Vehicles at BAE Systems told workers gathered at Spartan.
"This was about saving lives. You guys all made that happen and it made a difference."
Spartan began working on the chassis system for the RG33 MRAP in July 2007, before testing on the vehicles' hulls was complete.
BAE made design changes as the vehicles were being built. Even so, Spartan Chassis President Richard Schalter said, it took just 16 months to build the first 1,000 vehicles. Since then, another 1,500 have been shipped to U.S. ground troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"In automotive terms, this is like lightening speed," said Schalter, who said about 100 to 125 Spartan workers were assigned to the vehicle assembly line.
Riddle said staff at both BAE and at Spartan worked overtime to meet the demand of producing "as many vehicles as possible as fast as possible" for the military.
Since the vehicles have been used in the field, Riddle said, they have made a significant impact on the number of military causalities due to roadside explosives.
Schalter said Spartan's work on the MRAPs demonstrates the company's ability to handle prototype vehicle projects. He said officials are currently pursuing work for several other projects, though there are no deals.
Schalter said he is optimistic new projects will allow the company to hire more people in the near future. Spartan cut 289 temporary workers last month as the company completed some of its contracts but did not have enough work to keep all the workers.
Rachel S. Greco is the editor of the Charlotte Shopping Guide. She can be reached at 541-2531 or at rgreco@gannett.com.
