Lockheed expands postal work

Lockheed Martin Corp. won two contracts collectively worth nearly $24 million from the U.S. Postal Service to manufacture systems that automatically process mail containers and reduce costs in dispatch operations, the company said today.

Under the first $19.8 million contract, Lockheed Martin will produce 90 automatic tray sleever systems, adding to the 125 existing units already installed at the postal service's processing and distribution centers. These machines automate the manual task of taking managed mail, small managed mail, extended managed mail and small extended managed mail trays from processing operations and sliding the trays into a collapsible sleeve for protection during transport. The original systems were deployed in 2004.

Under the second contract worth almost $4 million, Lockheed Martin will produce 50 automatic flats tray lidder systems. These systems automatically place lids on trays used to transport newspapers, magazines, large business envelopes, direct-mail catalogs and advertising material. Lockheed already has built 120 of the machines under a contract awarded in April 2003.

Both systems are part of the Postal Service's transformation plan to improve services while reducing costs.

Work for both contracts will begin in the spring. Lockheed Martin's distribution technologies unit of Oswego, N.Y., will perform the subassembly and prep work at the company's manufacturing facility in Apalachin, N.Y.

Bethesda, Md.-based Lockheed Martin employs about 130,000 people worldwide and had 2003 revenue of $31.8 billion. It is No. 1 on Washington Technology's Top 100 list of prime federal contractors.