READING, Pa., 28 July 2008.Fidelity Technologies Corp. won a U.S. Army contract to manufacture an advanced type of circuit protection called the Power Distribution Illumination System, Electrical (PDISE). The contract is worth as much as $124 million over the next five years, depending on military requirements.
The PDISE units will control the amount of power flowing from powerful generators to the standard electrical requirements that soldiers use.
"In the field, the military requires massive generators, which power lights, computers, radios, and other electrical sources," says J. David Gulati, president of Fidelity. "We are building the power distribution systems to control and limit the amount of amps being run, making it possible for soldiers to safely operate electrical devices in the field."
As part of the contract, Fidelity will be constructing four PDISE units with various amps. The units will be strung out from the generator. The first one will reduce the amps from the generator to 200 amps. This box will be connected to the second, third, or fourth box, reducing power to 100 amps to 60 amps and 40 amps. The final box will reduce power to the point that it can safely flow into the military's standard class "L" military outlets.
Such a power distribution system provides versatility access to reliable electricity in any part of the world. The system is also portable and can easily be assembled and dismantled as required.
For the first delivery order Fidelity engineers are fabricating two of each unit type to undergo first article testing. To meet production delivery orders following first article testing acceptance, Fidelity officials expect to as many as 40 manufacturing employees.
