By John Keller
FORT MONMOUTH, N.J., 6 July 2005. U.S. Army officials are hiring a company that specializes in employing skilled federal prisoners to build a variety of military radios and related equipment.
The U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command (CECOM) at Fort Monmouth, N.J., awarded a $97.4 million contract to Federal Prison Industries Inc. in Washington June 29 for Single Channel Ground and Airborne Radio System (SINCGARS), the Enhanced Position Location Reporting System (EPLRS), and Frequency Hopping Multiplexer (FHMUX).
The contract number is W15P7T-05-F-0073. Federal Prison Industries does business under the name UNICOR. Work be at federal prisons in Danbury, Conn.; Edgefield, S.C.; Fairton, N.J.; Lexington, Ky.; Lompoc, Calif.; Loretto, Pa.; Memphis, Tenn.; and Phoenix, Ariz.
UNICOR, employs prisoners to make products and provide services, mainly for the federal government. More than 19,300 inmates, or about 13 percent of the total eligible inmate population, are employed in more than 100 UNICOR factories at 71 prisons.
UNICOR, which is part of the U.S. Department of Justice's Bureau of Prisons, has an electronics business group with a skilled labor force that provides finished electronic products and subcomponents for cables and fiber optic assemblies, circuit boards, and guided-missile components.
UNICOR also manufactures products such as office furniture, clothing, beds and linens, and eyewear. It also offers services including data entry, bulk mailing, laundry services, printing, recycling, and refurbishing vehicle components.
For more information on UNICOR, visit the company online at www.unicor.gov.
