FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Press Release
Chip Laingen
Minnesota Wire & Cable Co.
St. Paul, Minnesota
Phone: 651-642-1800

Minnesota Defense Awarded U.S. Army Research Grant

St. Paul, MN, 10/23/07 -- Minnesota Defense, a division of Minnesota Wire & Cable Co., has been awarded another Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the U.S. Army Armament RD&E Center (ARDEC – Research, Development and Evaluation). Since the defense division was formed in 2003, Minnesota Defense has aggressively sought R&D funding through the Department of Defense (DoD) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) programs. To date, Minnesota Defense has received four Phase I SBIRs, a subcontract for a fifth SBIR, two Phase II SBIRs, and one BAA. R&D grants have totaled more than $2.5 million.

The latest SBIR grant was awarded by the Army’s ARDEC command for a project dubbed “COBRA.” Minnesota Defense has partnered with the University of Arizona and Lockheed Martin Tactical Systems for the year-long Phase I proof of concept. The project deals with developing a process for dispersing carbon nanotube in polymer composite shielding/coating material, processed via rapid expansion from super critical fluid solution (RESS).

The defense division of Minneota Wire & Cable Co. has been highly successful in pursuing DoD SBIRs, in particular. The highly competitive program spans 11 federal agencies (including DoD), and targets the innovation that resides with small companies. In the case of DoD, SBIR helps solve critical military needs for the armed forces. The latest successful proposal maintains the 51% capture rate on solicitations for Minnesota Defense, well above the national average of 10%. The company was also recently awarded the prestigious Tibbetts Award for 2007. This national award for R&D excellence is given annually to small firms, projects, organizations and individuals who exemplify the very best in SBIR achievement. Minnesota Defense was one of 55 companies out of 4,000 applicants in the U.S. to receive this award.

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 and Future Force Warrior project; the Spider interconnect for Alliant Techsystems’ Alternative Land Mine system; and fiber optic cabling for United Defense’s Advanced Gun System (AGS).

BACK...

Minnesota Defense is the defense products division of Minnesota Wire & Cable Co. (MWCC), a vertically integrated, custom manufacturing and development house for wire, cable and interconnect assemblies to the Medical, Defense, Instrumentation and Telecommunications industries. MWCC is a market and R&D leader in mitigating tribo-electric effects, radio-translucent wire, innovative connections for wearable electronics, patient monitoring systems, leading-edge medical devices and extruded wire products. Minnesota Defense, the R&D and defense sales division executes hightechnology R&D, including projects such as Smart Connector for in-situ wire diagnostics and Komodo stretchy wire for body-borne vests and other applications. MWCC has a surgical products subsidiary, Minnesota Bramstedt Surgical, and a joint venture with Primordial, an in-house software development firm.

The 30,000 square foot headquarters in St. Paul, Minnesota boasts a full R&D and test and measurement center (including an Electromagnetic Capabilities (EMC) chamber for electronic compliance testing). Another high-volume, 58,000 square foot focused-cell production facility is located in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. MWCC is ISO 9001: 2000 certified, ISO 13485: 2003 compliant, ROHS compliant, and is a MIL-STD and IPC-620 certified harness manufacturer.

For more information on MWCC and its products and capabilities visit the web site at www.mnwire.com, or call 1.800.258.6922.