Published: August 08, 2007 10:58 pm            

Rep. Ellsworth tours Terre Haute businesses

TERRE HAUTE — Two Terre Haute companies were part of an “industry tour” Wednesday for U.S. Rep. Brad Ellsworth, D-Evansville, in his effort to understand manufacturing and business needs in the 8th Congressional District.

Ellsworth toured Unison Engine Components, which as of May 4 is a subsidiary of General Electric. The company, at Third and Oak streets, formerly was known as Smiths Aerospace Components-Fabrications. Ellsworth also toured Clabber Girl’s food processing plant near Ninth Street and Wabash Avenue.

“It is my job to go out and talk to employers in the district, as well as employees, and find out how government helps them do their jobs and what we are doing to slow their production down,” Ellsworth said.

Unison produces parts for commercial and military aircraft. Ellsworth is a member of the House Armed Services Committee. At Unison, Ellsworth said he discussed issues such as the “hazards of single-source processing and talked about second engines, whether we want some of the plane engines to be from one manufacturer only. We in the [House] Arms Service Committee don’t agree with that,” he said.

The Pratt & Whitney F135 is the primary engine for the new F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. The Department of Defense, for budget concerns, sought to cancel an alternative second engine, which would be built by General Electric Co. and the British firm Rolls Royce, both of which have facilities in Indiana.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office is arguing that adding a second Joint Strike Fighter engine could produce some long-term savings. Yet, a Pentagon cost-estimating division, the Cost Analysis Improvement Group, along with an independent study from the Institute for Defense Analyses, each reported that cost benefits of a second engine would be negligible.

Ellsworth said he thinks a second engine program is needed. “Competition is a good thing,” he said. “If we go to a single-source engine, then one manufacturer has a corner on the market and if they have a problem, can charge a lot more and raise the price. Competition is healthy and [GE and] Rolls-Royce makes that second engine and should not be excluded from the process. My job is to fight for folks here in Indiana. And it just makes good sense to have a second engine.”

Howard Greninger can be reached at (812) 231-4204 or howard.greninger@tribstar.com.

        

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