The Army awarded Winchester Ammunition a $13 million dollar contract to develop manufacturing processes for the 7.62 round.
Winchester holds an $8 billion contract to operate the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant (LCAAP). The $13 million contract is part of this existing deal between Winchester and the government.
Winchester Ammunition and the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant
Wholly owned by the government, LCAAP occupies almost 4,000 acres in Independence, Missouri. The government contracts the operation of the plant to private companies, such as Winchester Ammunition. As the primary source of all military ammunition, LCAAP is responsible for equipping all branches with rounds for training and combat. Its production capacity is approximately 1.6 billion rounds of small arms ammunition each year. LCAAP will be the primary location where work on the new manufacturing processes will occur.
Brett Flaugher, president of Winchester Ammunition said about the contract “Winchester is extremely proud to have been awarded this military ammunition manufacturing development project. Our entire Lake City team is honored and wholly committed to supporting the U.S. Warfighter.” Winchester has been operating the Lake City plant since October 2020. They previously held the contract from 1985 to 2001. The current contract is 7 years long, with an option to extend for up to three years.
A Sales Success for Winchester
Winchester Ammunition’s plans to develop new manufacturing process will likely improve efficiency at the LCAAP. The plant has been in continuous operation since 1941, except for a short period following World War 2. It manufacturers every caliber of small arms ammo used by the military, and is also one of a very small number of domestic facilities that can produce primers. Thanks in part to Lake City, Winchester’s sales in the third quarter of 2021 were up 94% over Q3 of 2020. That’s an impressive increase when one remembers how fast ammo was selling in 2020.
