News & Articles from Mobile Concepts
U.S. Trains Iraq Navy with Ocean Container
Simulators
Pittsburgh-based specialty vehicle manufacturer rises to the challenge
of container modification
Side panels for shipping removed at Northrop Grumman in order to join the
two containers into one.
Mount Pleasant, PA (December 23, 2009)- Housing for naval training
simulators is the next big project rolling out the doors of one small
company located in Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania.
Mobile Concepts by Scotty, a specialty commercial vehicle and trailer
manufacturing company, completed the first of two Department of Defense
contracts for ocean shipping container modification last Friday— a project
turned away by other companies due to time constraints.
Mobile Concepts was contacted about the project in July by Brian Wythe from
VSD, LLC., who is handling the training program and curriculum, in Virginia
Beach, Virginia:
1. The custom modification and conjoining of two shipping containers into a
Full Mission Bridge Trainer
(FMBT), a training center that simulates the bridge of a
naval ship and
2. The custom remodeling of a single shipping container to accommodate a
Small Arms Trainer (SAT).
The obstacle was that the first portion of the project had to be completed
by the end of 2009.
“The time constraint wasn’t a deterrent for us,” stated Chris Simon, Mobile
Concepts’ Vice President of Sales. “We’re not a huge company, but you would
think so by what comes out of our manufacturing facility. We have the
unique ability to give you that one-on-one attention you might not get
somewhere else, but we’re large enough to get the job done when and how you
need it.”
After leaving the Mobile Concepts factory, the FMBT containers will be
shipped to Northrop Grumman in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, for a 3-month
installation of ship simulator components on their replica naval ship. The
next leg of the trip will take the fully-equipped FMBT to Morgan City,
Louisiana, where it will be housed by Swiftships, who are known for their
top quality military vessels.
It will be used to train members of the Iraq Navy in ship navigation. It
will eventually be transported to its final destination in Iraq after the
initial group of Iraq Naval personnel has completed training stateside.
The second portion of the project, the SAT container, will be completed by
Mobile Concepts by the end of January, 2010. It will be used to train
the Iraq Navy on the use of deck-mounted weaponry on their ships. Virtual
reality training equipment and software will be installed by Dynamic
Animation Systems, Inc., of Fairfax, Virginia.
Mobile Concepts’ 50,000-square-foot factory is manned and equipped to handle
the many challenges that can arise during projects like these.
“Although we’ve modified ocean shipping containers in the past
[Mitsubishi Electric], this project challenged our design team because of
the need to join two containers together to accommodate the large Northrop
Grumman pilot house simulator, but Mobile Concepts will always accommodate
Department of Defense customers,” explained company president Anne Degre.
“I welcome those projects that the faint-hearted are afraid of. My
facility has been operating on a 24/7 schedule to meet this crucial
deadline, and I am proud of my talented staff of management and production
team members whom have completed this project on time. They are always up
for the task and are willing to accept challenges,” continued Degre.
The biggest challenge that faced Mobile Concepts during this project was
finding the best way to keep the structural integrity of the shipping
container after removing a 22 foot piece of the wall in order to join the
two containers.
“We worked together as a team to finalize and execute the best plan to keep
the container structurally sound because the customer needed to be able to
walk around on top and install antennas as well as hold up to the elements
and shipping wear and tear for years to come,” said Simon.
This creative-spirit is inherited from Mobile Concepts’ roots. Degre added,
“My father and grandfather started this company more than 50 years ago from
an idea sketched on the back of a napkin, and since then we’ve become the
leader in several industries – adapting our approach as needed to better
serve our customers.”
Today, the company custom designs and manufactures specialty vehicles for
agencies in government, military, law enforcement, police, utility,
healthcare and private enterprise.
Visit www.MobileConcepts.com
for more information about the many other custom vehicles Mobile Concepts
offers.
The Naval Air (NAVAIR) Warfare Center Training Systems Division, Orlando,
Florida, is the contracting activity (N61339-09-C-0034).
Jointed interior of FMBT container
Photo credit Kim Tuscan
Mobile Concepts by SCOTTY
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