Pacific Scientific in Hollister will soon start manufacturing a
product that United States soldiers halfway around the world will
use to make their dangerous jobs a little safer.
Hollister – Pacific Scientific in Hollister will soon start manufacturing a product that United States soldiers halfway around the world will use to make their dangerous jobs a little safer.
The department of defense last month awarded a nearly $23.5 million contract to Pacific Scientific – San Benito County’s fourth largest employer – to make detonators for explosives that soldiers use too clear minefields that explode when a vehicle drives or a person walks over them.
According to United States Navy Spokesperson Landon Hutchins, the detonator – called an electric fuze – is a small, but important part of a larger device, which includes a “daisy chain” of plastic explosives that are launched into a minefield with a rocket.
The electric fuze, which is what Pacific Scientific was contracted to manufacture, is used to detonate the chain of explosives, which in turn blows a pathway through the minefield.
“It blows a 20 to 25 foot path in the minefield so they can drive a vehicle right through the gap,” Hutchins said. “It makes a big difference when trying to get through a minefield.”
According to Hutchins, the more time soldiers spend out in the open and blocked by a minefield, the more vulnerable they are to enemy artillery fire. The system, which has seen use during the current war in Iraq, was important to U.S. military success during the Persian Gulf War in 1991, he said.
“It allowed the Marines to rapidly breach the double-layer minefield and proceed to attack and defeat Iraqi forces and liberate Kuwait City,” he said.
Supervisor Jaime De La Cruz was happy to hear that Pacific Scientific won the contract, and said he hopes it will mean new jobs for locals.
“That’s great news for this community,” he said. “Hopefully it adds fuel to our weak economy.”
With about 430 employees, Pacific Scientific is one of the largest employers in the county. Representatives of the company could not be reached for comment, so it is unclear if it will need to hire additional staff to fill the defense department’s order. Located in Hollister on Union road, Pacific Scientific makes a variety of parts used in missile and space systems as well as motors used for aircraft ejection seats.
According to a defense department press release, the $23.5 million contract will expire in 2010. The release also said that the contract was advertised on the Internet, and Pacific Scientific was the only firm to bid.
Councilman Robert Scattini was also pleased that the company was awarded the contract.
“That’s great,” he said “It keeps people employed”
Scattini said that he would like to see more large employers like Pacific Scientific make a home in Hollister, once the building moratorium imposed by a state agency following a 15 million gallon sewage spill in 2002 is lifted.
“We need it,” he said. “We’ve lost a lot of businesses. These places help make jobs.”
Luke Roney covers politics and the environment for the Free Lance. Reach him at 831-637-5566 ext. 335 or at [email protected].
