ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times

DATE: Saturday, February 17, 1996            TAG: 9602190025
SECTION: BUSINESS                 PAGE: A-6  EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: GREG EDWARDS STAFF WRITER


ITT NIGHT VISION'S FUTURE LOOKS BRIGHTER WITH ARMY CONTRACT

ITT Night Vision in Roanoke County said Friday it has received a contract to supply all of the U.S. Army's next purchase of night vision devices.

The contract has a potential value of $239 million if all of its options are exercised, said John Domalski, director of military marketing and sales. The contract overlays the company's existing contract with the Army and means additional work through 1998, he said.

The contract will not mean any more jobs at the plant but will contribute to job security, Domalski said.

ITT said Jan. 31 that it planned to lay off 12 workers March 5 because of slower than expected growth in its commercial night-vision sales to non-military users such as police, boaters and outdoors enthusiasts. The plan for those layoffs should not be changed by the military contract, Domalski said.

The contract covers infantry goggles, three types of aviators' goggles, a new monocular and spare image-intensification tubes. Delivery will begin in September.

ITT officials said ITT has delivered 113,000 of the tubes and 71,000 goggles on schedule more than 99 percent of the time during the past three years.

ITT Night Vision employs roughly 650 people at a plant on Plantation Road near Hollins. It is a unit of ITT Defense & Electronics of McLean, Va., a subsidiary of ITT Industries Inc. of White Plains, N.Y.


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