Bechtel unit gets $166M Navy sub deal

Bechtel unit gets $166M Navy sub deal - 2005-12-19 - Pittsburgh Business Times: "Bechtel unit gets $166M Navy sub deal
Dan Reynolds

A Pittsburgh division of construction and engineering giant Bechtel Group has been awarded part of a $166 million contract to manage the production of nuclear submarine engine components for the U.S. Navy.

The Naval Sea Systems Command, based in Washington, D.C. is the contracting authority.

The Pittsburgh office of Bechtel Plant Machinery Inc., an engineering project management division owned by the former Westinghouse Electric Corp., will perform 73 percent of the work and the remainder will be performed by BPMI's Schenectedy, N.Y. division.

BPMI employs more than 550 engineers and project managers at its plant apparatus division in Wilkins Township and an additional 330 people at its machinery apparatus division in Schenectedy. The division does not actually fabricate nuclear submarine engine parts, but oversees companies that do.

BPMI is a division of Bechtel National Inc., the San Francisco-based government services arm of Bechtel Group. Bechtel Group employs more than 42,000 people worldwide and is estimated to be the fifth-largest private company in the United States, with $16.3 billion in revenue in 2003.

Bechtel National also owns the Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory, which employs 2,000 people in West Mifflin. The laboratory performs work on nuclear reactors that power U.S. submarines.

Local companies such as Precision Defense Services Inc. in Irwin and Penn State Tool & Die Corp. in North Huntingdon are parts suppliers to the Bechtel National divisions.

Bechtel National acquired both the former Westinghouse Electric Corp. divisions in an April 1999 deal with CBS Corp. Westinghouse had purchased CBS in 1995 and CBS merged with Viacom Inc. in 1999.

DAN REYNOLDS may be contacted at dreynolds@bizjournals.com.
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