Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd. has contracted with an alternative supplier to produce the electronic cards currently produced at the Sanmina-SCI Systems Israel Ltd. plant in Lod, large parts of which are liable to be shut down shortly. The components in question are the electronic cards installed in the Tamir missiles used in the Iron Dome rocket interception system. Sanmina-SCI Israel is one of dozens of sub-contractors on the Iron Dome project.
Sources at Rafael expressed satisfaction at the products supplied to it by the Lod plant, and expressed regret at the news that Sanmina-SCI intended to scale down its operations in Israel, and at the consequences for the company's 300 employees.
In recent weeks, in the light of the plans of the Israeli plant's parent company in the US to close down some of its activities, Rafael found an alternative subcontractor to produce the electronics cards. It was agreed that the Lod plant will continue to produce the cards required for the Tamir missiles until March 2013. It was stressed that there was no fear of disruption to production of the missiles.
Sanmina-SCI's 300 workers in Lod are liable to find themselves jobless if the US parent company carries out its intention of ending manufacturing operations in Israel. Ministry of Defense sources said that the ministry and defense companies that had made supply contracts with the plant in the past had not stopped ordering from it. "The company has not approached the Ministry of Defense with any request for aid," the ministry said.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on December 17, 2012
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