VT Halter Marine, a company of ST Engineering North America, has been awarded a grant of nearly $1.7 million for a 1,250‐ton press brake by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD), the company reported on Wednesday.

“We appreciate MARAD for its continued support of VT Halter Marine and our employees,” said Ron Baczkowski, President and CEO. “This grant enables us to replace and modernize our equipment and processes to fuel future growth along the Mississippi Gulf Coast. The new machinery will replace the existing 750-ton press brake, which is 45 years old and has exceeded its useful life. While it has served us well, the existing machinery frequently requires repair and is no longer supported by spare parts.”

The grant was part of a discretionary grant to 24 U.S. shipyards through the Small Shipyard Grant Program, totaling $19.6 million. The grant will fund the modernization of shipyards, improving efficiency in constructing vessels. VT Halter Marine will purchase, install and train personnel to operate the new press brake.

The modernized press brake will accommodate the increased thicknesses and higher grades of materials used in VT Halter Marine’s ongoing and future programs. VT Halter Marine will also utilize a larger capacity unit to expedite work.

With VT Halter Marine’s work, the press brake will double the bending force capacity and will be capable of computer numerically controlled operations using data taken directly from engineering drawings to increase efficiency and productivity.

The company will use the braking unit to create flanged plate girders, flanged brackets, bilge keel plates, simple curvature hull plates and conical shapes such as anchor bolsters from flat sheets of steel or aluminum plate.

VT Halter Marine will continue to bolster its employee base as design and planning continues in the U.S. Coast Guard’s Polar Security Cutter. The company has projected to cut the first plate of steel a year from now, and a new press brake is vital to the vessel’s construction.

Obtaining this new, modern equipment enables VT Halter Marine to continue to leverage information technology and to modernize our shipyard as we build America’s first heavy icebreaker (the Polar Security Cutter) in 40 years and other U.S. government and commercial new construction programs,” Baczkowski said.

About VT Halter Marine/ ST Engineering

VT Halter Marine, the marine operations of ST Engineering North America, is based in Pascagoula, Miss., and is a leader in the design and construction of medium-sized ships in the United States. VT Halter Marine designs, builds and repairs a wide variety of ocean-going vessels such as patrol vessels, oil recovery vessels, oil cargo vessels, ferries, logistic support vessels, auxiliaries, and research and survey vessels. Please visit www.vthaltermarine.com.

ST Engineering North America is the U.S. headquarters of ST Engineering, a global technology and engineering group, providing integrated solutions to the commercial and government markets in the aerospace, electronics, land systems, and marine sectors. Within the U.S., we have major operations in 17 cities across 13 states and more than 5,000 employees, providing innovative products and services across these diverse market segments.

Honeywell has announced that the company will temporarily shift manufacturing operations at two chemical manufacturing facilities to produce and donate hand sanitizer to government agencies in response to shortages created by the COVID-19 pandemic, Honeywell reported on Wednesday.

“When called upon to help, our team rushed to transform production lines to produce hand sanitizer for areas where it is most urgently needed. I am proud to work with such innovative and dedicated employees who not only care enough to make a difference but have the spirit to make it happen,” said Rajeev Gautam, president and CEO of Honeywell Performance Materials and Technologies.

Honeywell’s sanitation operations will occur at its sites in Muskegon, Michigan, and Seelze, Germany, and will produce hand sanitizer over the next two months for government agencies. The company will then distribute the product to institutions in need. Both sites are part of Honeywell’s Performance Materials and Technologies (PMT) business group.

The Muskegon plant has manufactured high-purity solvents and blends with more than 1,500 products used in high-end applications such as DNA and RNA synthesis, environmental analysis, precision cleaning, pharmaceutical testing and various other laboratory applications. The plant has begun production of hand sanitizer that it will donate to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

The Seelze plant has produced more than 500 products, including high-purity solutions for laboratory research and testing applications, inorganic fine chemicals for agriculture and automotive industries, electronic chemicals used in semiconductors.

The plant has also developed microchips and authentication technologies used in high security and brand protection applications, including personal protection equipment authentication. The plant has already fulfilled and delivered an emergency donation of industrial hand sanitizer to the Saxony Ministry of Health, Social Affairs and Equality.

The Seelze plant has projected to expedite production to enable Honeywell to donate additional hand sanitizer. The Saxony Ministry of Health, Social Affairs and Equality announced its intent to distribute this product to local hospitals and factories.

In addition to Honeywell’s sanitizer production, the company has continued to develop responses to combat COVID-19. Most recently, Honeywell announced manufacturing investments that will enable the production of more than 20 million N95 disposable masks monthly. The company announced its additional manufacturing capabilities in Phoenix to produce N95 face masks in support of the U.S. government’s response to COVID-19 in March 2020.

“We have moved quickly to expand our production capacity for N95 masks globally and are pleased to announce our second new U.S. manufacturing line to supply the Strategic National Stockpile,” said Darius Adamczyk, Honeywell chairman and chief executive officer.

Honeywell has projected that the new mask production line in Phoenix will create more than 500 new jobs in Arizona. The company has already begun recruiting, hiring and training manufacturing workers on the site. The announcement has brought the total number of U.S. jobs created by Honeywell’s new mask manufacturing capabilities to more than 1,000.

The N95 face masks will be delivered to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to contribute to support health, safety and emergency response workers. The Phoenix facility will prioritize fulfilling the U.S. government’s procurement, but it will also have the capacity to produce face masks for U.S. states and American healthcare and emergency response organizations.

Honeywell’s production expansion will also support additional American businesses, including industrial equipment providers and raw materials suppliers. The company has collaborated with state and local officials to ramp up production efforts and support hiring and training.

“As global citizens, we are honored to be able to answer the call for help in hopes of minimizing the spread of this pandemic,” added Gautam.

About Honeywell

Honeywell is a Fortune 100 technology company that delivers industry-specific solutions that include aerospace products and services; control technologies for buildings and industry; and performance materials globally. Our technologies help aircraft, buildings, manufacturing plants, supply chains, and workers become more connected to make our world smarter, safer, and more sustainable.

House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith (D-Wash.) and Mac Thornberry (R-Texas), the House panel’s ranking member, on Tuesday pledged to pass this year the fiscal 2021 National Defense Authorization Act amid the coronavirus pandemic, The Hill reported Tuesday.

The two lawmakers said they think the COVID-19 pandemic will affect how the House panel marks up the defense policy bill and are now in discussions with the leadership of both parties to address the issue.

“At the same time, we remain committed to the principles that have guided the bill in the past — regular order through the committee, transparency and bipartisanship,” Smith and Thornberry said in a joint statement.

The two House committee leaders said they hoped to have a bill ready for consideration by Friday, May 1, so the panel can mark up the measure as soon as the lower chamber reconvenes.

The University of Illinois at Chicago has received $8M in funds from the National Nuclear Security Administration through the Stewardship Science Academic Alliances program to manage a Center of Excellence that will focus on the properties of materials under austere conditions.

UIC will oversee the Chicago/Department of Energy Alliance Center for four years under the SSAA program, DOE said Monday.

The facility will establish interactions between academic groups and NNSA laboratory scientists and train graduate students in stewardship science. The center will also perform high pressure-temperature studies on the properties of materials.

“This work will expand the boundaries of knowledge in materials and high-pressure science, while also developing the next generation of scientists to support the stockpile stewardship mission,” said Mark Anderson, assistant deputy administrator for research, development, test and evaluation at NNSA’s Office of Defense Programs.

The SSAA initiative seeks to recruit engineers and scientists for the Nuclear Security Enterprise in a move to support NNSA’s stockpile stewardship efforts.