Companies that manufacture batteries for the U.S. Defense Department are experiencing some good times. In 2010, the Defense Logistics Agency purchased $127.59 million worth of batteries, 14.4% more than in 2009. Currently, the military purchases 7,208 different types of batteries from 226 companies.
At BidLink, we have been mining over 500 million records of defense industry data looking for trends of interest for defense contractors, and are finding that there is money to be made supplying seemingly common items. While attention is generally directed toward big ticket buys like aircraft and weapons systems, the Department of Defense (DOD) is spending quite a bit of money on replacement parts called spares. We draw attention to this because there is opportunity for U.S. companies, who might be struggling during the Great Recession. With retail sales in decline, the DOD can provide some stability for vendors. This week, we focus on the battery industry.
With portable technology as the foundation of the modern military, batteries have become an essential, recurring need. From AAA to D, fuel cells to rechargeable, the defense department runs on batteries. We examined several supply classes (FSC) for this study:
TOP SUPPLIERS
The leader in battery sales by number of contracts is Exide Technologies with 2,468. Exide technologies is a for profit corporation located in Milton, Georgia and manufactures batteries as well as motor vehicle supplies. They have over 1,500 employees and annual sales of approximately $2.4 Billion. They were followed closely by Enersys Energy Products with 1,924 contracts.
As for sales volume, Enersys Energy Products is the clear leader with almost $32 Million in annual battery sales to the Defense Department for 2010. Their most popular item by far was a storage battery used on vehicles including COUGAR and MRAP, National Stock Number 6140-01-485-1472, of which they sold 1,830 to DOD at $305 each. Most of their sales were through long term contracts, where the defense department agrees to purchase a quantity over time. Once won by competitive bid, these contracts can sometimes last for years. The defense department issues periodic delivery orders against the contract when they need more supplies. Armed with the right information, prudent contractors can win these contracts for themselves.
BidLink.net is a provider of defense industry information for contractors worldwide. This data includes millions of defense contracts, procurement history, part numbers and vendor details. This unique combination of resources allows BidLink to monitor and extract important information for the defense contracting industry. BidLink.net, based in Washington, D.C., provides bid consolidation, searching and notification services, as well as part number (NSN) lookup to many military activities and thousands of private companies around the world.
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