Defense Cuts: Small Business Feels It

[Javaman]

http://www.cnbc.com/id/45324166

There are still some things made in America. Inside a massive building in Niles, Ohio, furnaces burning at temperatures of up to 4,000 degrees are melting titanium, a lightweight but strong metal which goes into airplanes, tanks, and artillery.

This facility, nearly a million square feet, is the largest owned by RTI International Metals , a global company that provides titanium to both the commercial and defense markets. A third of its business goes to Pentagon suppliers, and RTI is waiting to see what the Super Committee does, or doesn't do, with defense spending.


"I think the biggest concern for us, frankly, is the uncertainty," says President and CEO Dawne Hickton. "We are the contracted supplier for the titanium for the Joint Strike Fighter program. So that's certainly one of the programs we are watching."

Whatever the decision the Super Committee makes, it will affect contractors large and small around the country, including RTI's plant in Niles.

more at link...

[Bonhomme Richard]

1. It's a sad state that so much of what is left of manufacturing.....

is tied directly, or indirectly to the military. Who says Government doesn't create jobs? If only a substantial fraction of that money were directed toward infrastructure.

[sadbear]

2. Huh--I never thought of a business with $35 million payroll as small

I guess I've been thinking wrong this entire time. Thanks CNBC for setting me straight.