WEST PLAINS FIRM GETS SAUDI TRAILER CONTRACT

A West Plains company will be rolling scud buster transport trailers off their assembly line next year for the Saudi military under an $18.9 million contract.

U.S. Rep. Bill Emerson, R-Cape Girardeau, made the announcement Tuesday, saying the contract between Southwest Mobile Systems and Saudi Arabia was two years in the making.

The trailers will carry the launching station or radar set for the U.S. Army's Patriot surface-to-air missile system, which gained acclaim during the Persian Gulf War. The missiles were used to down incoming Iraqi scuds aimed at allied forces in the Middle East.

Saudi Arabia wants 84 trailers produced by Southwest Mobile.

"The jobs are important to the Howell County region, and the mobile platform will be crucial for Saudi Arabia to better protect itself and its Gulf neighbors from any attacks," Emerson said.

Southwest Mobile employs 625 people. Garland Barton of the company said the contract might mean the company will be able to hire additional people. But more importantly, he said the contract means the company will at least maintain its current work force.

"We've done international work before, but this is a very, very large international contract for us," he said. "We're branching into some areas that are very exciting for us."

Barton couldn't say how long the company would need to produce the 84 trailers for Saudi Arabia. He said one trailer a day currently rolls off the assembly line. "It will really depend on the workload on the rest of the plant," he said.