Huntsville, Alabama – On Tuesday, August 25, 2009, military shelter and trailer manufacturer DHS Systems celebrated the production and delivery of its 2,500th trailer-mounted support system (TMSS) to the US Army. The milestone was marked with an event at the company’s manufacturing facility in Huntsville, Alabama.
During the event, which was attended by prominent members of the Army’s program office, local officials and area military contractors, guest speaker Brigadier General Terry ‘Max’ Haston, assistant adjutant general of the Tennessee National Guard, discussed how the company’s line of deployable rapid assembly shelter (DRASH) systems and support equipment have improved the military landscape.
“I can tell you that having used these shelters, it makes a difference. It gives more planning time to the soldiers who need it. It saves lives and gives them the time to plan their operations,” said BG Haston.
DHS Systems founder and CEO A Jon Prusmack also spoke of how the company has evolved since producing its first trailer ten years ago.
“Ten years ago, we delivered our first Patriot Battery Command Post, and that was the genesis of the TMSS program. At that time we had 60 people, our sales were under $10 million. Ten years later, we have over 500 people and sales worth a quarter of a billion dollars,” said Prusmack.
DHS Systems began producing the TMSS in 2006, delivering its first TMSS to the 1st Calvary Division at Fort Hood, Texas as a commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS), non-developmental item (NDI) system.
In 2008, Systems and Northrop Grumman Corporation were awarded the army’s standardized integrated command post system (SICPS) contract. Under the firm, fixed-price contract, which is valued at $240 million and will run through January 2013, Northrop Grumman and DHS Systems are producing, integrating, and delivering two TMSS variants – TMSS-medium and TMSS-large.
DHS Systems currently produces up to 40 TMSS systems each week. While all trailer production takes place at the Huntsville manufacturing facility, the system’s shelters are produced at the company’s headquarters and manufacturing plant in Orangeburg, NY.
The army has fielded 945 SICPS TMSS systems since September 2008.