Rhode Island's Greystone Corporation Diversifies Into Defense / Aerospace

Small Business Contract Award: Mk281 "Green Ammunition" Projectile Bodies 

PROVIDENCE, R.I., March 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Greystone Corporation announced
today that it received a 3-year contract to produce "green ammunition"
projectile bodies for American Rheinmetall Munitions (ARM).  The projectile
bodies are for the Mk281, the only 40 mm Non-Dud Producing (NDP) training
ammunition in the United States.  Through the Rhode Island Economic
Development Commission, Greystone secured a loan to re-tool and diversify into
the defense / aerospace industry.  The contract exemplifies how small
companies can realign in the economy to fulfill federal initiatives. 

The Mk281 product design enables the Department of Defense (DoD) to fulfill
its mission of supporting small businesses.  It enables Greystone to become
less dependent on the automotive industry, and it enables ARM to strengthen
its small business base of producers to fabricate all Mk281 components in the
U.S., in accordance with the Senate's "Buy American" requirements. 

As a producer of safety critical parts for the automotive industry, Greystone
will transfer core automotive capabilities.  The high-tolerance precision
machining and coating techniques used for stability control braking systems,
air bag components, and fuel system components apply to ammunition.  Like
automotive parts, projectile bodies also require strict adherence to
engineering specifications, corrosion protective coatings, and lifetime
product traceability.  

With over 75 years of continuous business experience, Greystone is technically
seasoned and able to deliver on time.  "Our supply relationships are deeply
established," explained John Maconi, Chief Operating Officer. "Our Engineers
and Quality Team deal directly with suppliers.  This helps us to maintain an
overall quality and delivery rating for automotive customers of 98%.  That's a
solid number for an industry running on Just-In-Time practices.  Applying
similar systems and operational flexibility to the projectile product makes
good sense." 

Besides manufacturing the steel component and plating for the Mk281 projectile
body, Greystone will manage the entire projectile manufacturing process.  This
includes dedicating one supply chain manager to oversee raw material
procurement, manufacturing, quality and logistics for the machining, plating
and injection molding.  For a product like Mk281, 99% of the raw materials for
the projectile body are manufactured in the United States.  

Mk281 is positioned as the market leader in the 40 mm "green ammunition"
product category through a U.S. Marines' contract award to Rheinmetall.  Mk281
is primarily used by the Marines, but also is used at the Army's National
Training Center (NTC) in Fort Irwin, California.  The cartridge is used for
fire and maneuver training, and it allows soldiers to train in dry summer
months when range restrictions prohibit the use of the Army's M918 pyrotechnic
spotting cartridge.  

The M918 also creates large amounts of Unexploded Ordnance (UXO).  It is a
1970 design with a fuze failure rate of 3%-8%, which makes it expensive to
clean up.  The DoD is searching for ways to phase out the M918 while staying
on mission to support Soldiers and small businesses.  

With the volume of 40 mm "green ammunition" needed to keep War-fighters'
skills sharp on high-velocity machine guns, small businesses like Greystone
can successfully compete in this space.  The company also recently added
aluminum anodizing and manganese phosphate capabilities to support the armed
forces demand for weapons, and established a proprietary coating process to
increase the life and accuracy of gun barrels. 

Greystone was established in 1932 and has two facilities in Rhode Island and a
plant in Virginia.  The company is focused on bringing technical solutions to
customers that require turned metal parts with functional wear coatings in the
automotive, defense / aerospace and medical markets.  The company is certified
by NADCAP, holds TS 16949 and ISO 2002 Registrations, and is an FAA Approved
Repair Station.  

For more information, visit us at www.Greyst.com and www.PlatingJournal.com.

SOURCE  Greystone Corporation

John Maconi of Greystone Corporation, JohnMaco@Greyst.com, +1-401-330-0444; or
Media Inquiries, Kate Roa of Defense PR, +1-973-600-9716,
defensepr@kateroa.com