:::::::NETWORK::::::: the ladue news business connection ::

by Christy Kloecker Thompson

Watching Peter Jennings report on the latest news in Iraq, it’s easy for many of us to feel far removed from the events currently taking place in the Middle East. Unless we have a friend or family member stationed there, St. Louis seems a long way from downtown Baghdad.

What many St. Louisans don’t know is that several area industries are playing important roles in supporting America’s military forces stationed overseas. The contracts held by these area corporations are vital to our military efforts and important to the local economy as well.

The Lighthouse for the Blind (LHB) is not your typical military contractor. But then again, there’s very little that’s ordinary about this nonprofit corporation. For 70 years, LHB has fulfilled its mission to employ and assist the visually impaired. And in recent years, it has done so, in part, through contracts held with the U.S Army Medical Materiel Agency (USAMMA).

LHB Industries was founded to assist blind and visually impaired individuals develop productive skills and earn a steady income. At its facilities in Berkeley and Trenton, Mo., the corporation employs and trains approximately 50 visually impaired workers who package aerosol and liquid cleaning products and paints, as well as assembling medical supply kits for a variety of government agencies.

Several years ago, USAMMA, the Army’s executive agency for strategic medical logistics, tapped LHB for a renewable contract to provide essential medical materials to its Special Forces stationed in Iraq. Today, teams of sighted and visually impaired LHB employees assemble military, tactical, medical, trauma, ambulance and field kits for the military.

“Our contract with USAMMA is now in its second year,” LHB’s marketing manager Abby Klug says proudly. LHB’s Special Forces tactical kits are designed to replenish items used in the field and may include medical supplies as diverse as scalpels and sutures, aspirin and dental supplies.

“We are extremely proud of our visually impaired employees and the work that they are doing,” adds Scott Cramer, plant superintendent at the Trenton facility. “The kits we produce for USAMMA are tremendously important to our troops overseas.”

For many years, LHB’s core market was the production and packaging of cleaning products to the Army, Air Force and Navy. But in recent years, producing military supply kits has become the corporation’s “bread and butter.”

“Our contract with USAMMA is great for our staff and good for our troops working overseas, too,” Cramer says. “It’s truly a win-win situation.”

In contrast to the small staff of employees at The Lighthouse for the Blind, Engineered Support Systems, Inc., (Nasdaq: EASI) is a large, local multi-unit corporation charged with designing, manufacturing and supplying integrated military electronics and support equipment to all branches of the military.

In April it was announced that EASI had received new contracts totaling $10.9 million from the U.S. Air Force to support its cargo loaders/transporters deployed at American military bases worldwide. In fact, the list of military contracts held by EASI and its operating units is both long and impressive. EASI provides the military with fuel and water distribution systems, operational support, power generators, heat and air conditioning systems, aircraft loading equipment and electronic, ground-based radar equipment.

“The products we manufacture run the gamut from telecommunications systems to be used by troops and logistical personnel to basic conveniences like airconditioning and water,” explains Dan Kreher, vice president, acquisitions & investor relations. While a majority of its contracts are with the U.S. Army and Air Force, EASI also provides equipment and services to naval forces and foreign militaries as well.

Not long ago, EASI received a request to reconfigure and provide armor kits for 775 military vehicles and Humvees being used in Iraq. “By replacing the vehicles’ engines and suspensions, installing ballistic-proof glass and adding armored panels, we’re helping to make our troops safer,” Kreher reflects. “Not long ago, two of our redesigned vehicles came in contact with explosives, and the soldiers emerged unhurt. We’re very proud of our part in making scenarios like that possible,” he says.

While most of us pursue lives and careers that have little effect on events overseas, there are many St. Louisans who have the pleasure of knowing that their jobs are helping to improve the lives of our troops. The products and services provided by LHB and EASI are keeping military personnel healthy and comfortable, making their communications and special missions possible, and in some cases, even saving lives. Knowing that they are a part of our nation’s efforts in Iraq is a tremendous and never-ending source of pride for these two corporations, and for all of us here in St. Louis.

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