BAE Systems last year announced it was ending military production at the 200,000-square-foot facility and was transferring about 160 jobs to Sealy, Texas. O’Gara said last October his company would take over a “majority” of BAE’s 134 commercial employees.
In recent years, BAE has laid off hundreds of workers as its contracts have expired and defense spending cuts have grown. In 2007, BAE employed about 1,500 at its West Chester Twp. facility.
This $10 million acquisition greatly expands the capacity of the company’s Mobile Systems division — which currently designs, develops and manages the integration of highly engineered ballistic and blast systems to provide security vehicles with the highest levels of protection to counter terrorism, according to O’Gara.
“Helping protect the lives of U.S. diplomats and other foreign service personnel abroad is a critical task for our company,” O’Gara said.
The former O’Gara-Hess & Eisenhardt Armoring Co. originally operated the armored vehicle manufacturer from 1982 to 2001. The company was sold to Armor Holdings Inc. in 2001, and was eventually purchased by BAE in 2007, according to O’Gara.
“We are extremely pleased to have our former business back and look forward to providing our customers with the most technologically advanced protection that allows them to safely and confidently conduct their business,” O’Gara said.
O’Gara said his company first became a world leader in armoring due to the “spirit and dedication of its employees.” O’Gara’s Mobile System division currently has security vehicle armoring and electronics integration facilities in nearby Fairfield and San Antonio, Texas.
“Literally every person knew that someone’s life depended on how well they did their job,” O’Gara said. “The combination of this group of people and the wonderful employee base we have in San Antonio sets us on a course to regain our dominant global position.”
O’Gara said the company has developed synergistic business lines — including O’Gara Training and Services and O’Gara Sensor Systems — in order to fully meet the demands of global security.
O’Gara said the training and services line provides security and counter-terrorism training both domestically and internationally; and the sensor systems line provides night vision goggles, beacons and laser equipment to special operators, law enforcement and intelligence personnel globally.
The manufacturer’s customers include governments, military, homeland security and commercial customers.
“By expanding our Mobile Systems capabilities, we now offer a distinctive security package that fulfills many of the requirements for diplomatic security and low intensity conflict,” O’Gara said.
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