FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Press Release Chip Laingen
Minnesota Wire & Cable Co. Phone: 651-642-1800
St. Paul, Minnesota
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Minnesota Defense Wins Third Small Business Innovation Research Proposal
St. Paul, MN, 11/15/04 --

Minnesota Defense has won its third Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) proposal in less than a year. Just two years after successfully jumping into the defense industry following an urgent post-9/11 need by the U.S. Army, the Minnesota Wire & Cable Co. military product division continues to expand. It now represents 10 percent of the company’s traditionally medical oriented revenues, and has 7 dedicated employees.

Minnesota Defense has aggressively pursued the complex military market through a multi-track approach. The division has teamed with major service programs and prime contractors, including: the Army’s Land Warrior project, where the division helped to produce Soldier Interconnect 1.0 ™ that solved soldier-borne connector problems; the Spider interconnect for Alliant Techsystems’ Alternative Land Mine system; and fiber optic cabling for United Defense’s Advanced Gun System (AGS).

Minnesota Defense has also been successful in pursuing Department of Defense (DoD) research and development (R&D) funding through Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR). The highly competitive program includes 13 federal agencies and targets the innovation that resides with small companies. In the case of DoD, SBIR helps solve critical military needs for the armed forces. In less than one year, Minnesota Defense has submitted 8 "Phase I" SBIR proposals, and has already won 3 of them.

"The R&D path has been a successful opportunity for us," said Tom Ashenbrenner, the defense division’s manager. "Only 10 percent of all SBIR proposals are accepted, so we are very pleased with our results." These proposals now move to Phase II for more robust development prior to commercialization. Minnesota Defense’s three successful SBIR Phase I awards are: Smart Connector for the Air Force F-16 Falcon fighter jet for rapid, imbedded fault detection in aging wiring systems; Pod Connector for the Navy’s Littoral Combat Ship (LCS), a system for rapidly and securely attaching mission modules to a ship’s deck that will supply power, and transfer electronic data, fluid and gas; and the Rally Point Glove, an innovative, multifunctional Handwear Computer Input Device (HCID) that allows a soldier to interface his wearable computer through pressing various parts of his glove and by issuing quick, simple hand gestures.

Minnesota Defense’s successes are integral to the strategic direction of its parent company, Minnesota Wire & Cable Co. "The military as a customer is a good ‘fit’ for our core competency of providing rapid engineering solutions to complex manufacturing challenges," said Paul Wagner, President and CEO. "It has also helped us to develop our already strong skills in test and measurement throughout the design and manufacturing process." The
Minnesota Defense team also includes subject matter experts who have served on active duty in the Army and Navy.

The original impetus for the company’s entry into defense contracting was a desire to contribute following the attacks of September 11th. "I felt we had to ask how we could help, even though we didn’t know how, or where," said Wagner. "We found a niche in the Land Warrior program, and brought some useful solutions to the table, quickly. It was good business, but more importantly we felt proud to make a contribution to the war effort, and we’ll continue to do so."

Minnesota Defense is a division of Minnesota Wire & Cable Co. (MWCC), a vertically integrated custom manufacturer of wire and cable assemblies for the Instrumentation, Medical, Defense, and Telecommunications industries. Its 30,000-sq.-ft. headquarters is located in St. Paul, Minnesota, with another 27,000-sq-ft. facility located in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. MWCC is ISO 13485:1996 certified and its capabilities include custom tooling, cable extrusion, engineering and design, as well as shielding and cabling.

Minnesota Wire & Cable Co. continues to expand its capabilities in the design-to-delivery environment and custom wire and cable assemblies. For more information on MWCC and its products and services, visit its web site at www.mnwire.com or call 1-800-258-6922. To connect with the Minnesota Defense division, call Tom Ashenbrenner at (651) 642-1800.

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