Todd Jacobson
NS&D Monitor
2/20/2015
After keeping its plans quiet for weeks, Babcock & Wilcox said today that it is bidding for the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Kansas City National Security Campus management-and-operating contract. B&W led teams that ran the NNSA’s Y-12 and Pantex plants up until last year, but after its defeat to Bechtel-led Consolidated Nuclear Security in the competition for the combined Y-12/Pantex contract, it currently does not have a lead role across the weapons complex.
At Kansas City, B&W will challenge incumbent Honeywell Federal Manufacturing & Technologies, which faced no competition the last time the plant contract was bid in 2000. Bids for the new contract were due Feb. 10. “B&W TSG remains committed to supporting the U.S. Department of Energy and the NNSA throughout its operations and is pleased to offer our deep credentials and experience in advanced design, manufacturing and evaluation for these critical national security applications,” B&W Technical Services Group Vice President of Business Development Ken Camplin said in a statement. “We look forward to providing further public service and continuing our long-standing partnership with the NNSA.”
A ‘Stealth’ Bid?
B&W had been viewed as a potential bidder for the Kansas City contract, but many companies shied away from the opportunity after the Request for Proposals was released with a strong emphasis on past performance, nuclear manufacturing and with no technical plan required. B&W kept a low profile during the procurement, and did not attend a preproposal conference for the procurement in early January, fueling speculation that Honeywell would not have competition in trying to hold on to the contract. B&W, however, appears to have engineered a “stealth” bid in an attempt to take Honeywell by surprise, eager to regain a foothold in the NNSA market. In addition to its experience running the Y-12 and Pantex, B&W also is on the teams that run Los Alamos and Lawrence Livermore national laboratories and provides nuclear fuel for the Navy, and is likely to leverage that nuclear manufacturing in its bid for Kansas City.
For its part, Honeywell FM&T has been one of the top contractors across the weapons complex, which industry officials expected could tamp down competition. Last year, the company completed a move into a new manufacturing facility, replacing the plant’s aging Bannister Federal Complex home. “Honeywell is confident in our ability to deliver excellent performance and in meeting customer commitments now and as part of the future National Security Campus contract,” Honeywell FM&T spokeswoman Shaunda Parks said in a statement. “We have submitted our proposal and believe we can build on our long-standing track record of delivering exceptional solutions to the NNSA in support of a more responsive and cost-effective nuclear security enterprise.”
