CRANE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) — A decade long process for Crane Army Ammunition Activity has created new state of the art buildings that will help them create and ship materials for the U.S. Army.
U.S. Senator Mike Braun of Indiana and Army staff cut the ribbon on a new Crane facility that will be used primarily for receiving inbound shipments of ammunition and explosives. Army General Edward M. Daly says the facilities provide a look into the future.
Brigadier General Gavin J. Gardner says having a facility like this allows them to not only protect their staff better but also defend the country.
“One of the things that Crane does, is to rapidly deploy ammunitions in a time of crisis,” Brigadier General Gardner said. “So even in the past couple of weeks when the immediate response force was deployed to Afghanistan, Crane Ammunition Activity was a key component of that.”
The new shipping and receiving building will allow them to speed up the process of assessing ammunition, preparing for shipment and distributing it to where it is needed.
“It really will increase efficiency,” Colonel Santee Vasquez said. “It will minimize the double handling of ammunition and be able to increase our volume of trucks that we are receiving here.”
After spending ten years working on the project, the CAAA is excited the building will now be able to benefit the army.
“I’m just one of the many people who was involved in the design and construction and today’s an exciting day because it’s kind of like giving our bride away, and in the end users are going to be able to use this building,” Lauren Shipman, Crane Army Ammunition Activity.
Meanwhile a new plating facility will create different metal parts that will be cleaned and plated. The plating facility will also reduce workers’ exposure to hazardous chemicals and increase production.
“This new facility will be much more effective as far as quality goes,” Waylon Matthews, technical writer and editor for CAAA. “The production numbers, we expect about a 300 percent increase in the amount of parts we’re able to produce.”
