ssharpCamel Manufacturing has received a $40 million contract to produce tents for the United States military.
The five year, $40 million contract has been years in the making, according to Mark Riffle, Camel Manufacturing president. “We have been chasing this contract since 2016.”
With the award of the new contract, the locally owned and operated 100-year-old business will be producing 16 x 16 tent systems for the military. Camel currently makes 75 percent of the tents the US Military uses, Riffle said. Tents produced at the Pioneer facility aren’t similar to the ones used for camping. Instead, the tents are actually a system with floors, a liner and exterior surface. The smaller tents, made in the same manner, are used for sleeping and command and control systems. They are capable of having electrical lines run to them to power a command station.
This contract is the fourth multiyear contract Camel has been awarded recently. The company is also in the running for additional contracts. One is valued at $40 million and the other at $20 million. Riffle believes the government will announce those awards later this year
Production on the tents under the current contract will begin this fall. That means Camel has 20 job openings to fill.
The company needs welders, sowing machine operators and maintenance staff. And while production will not start for a few months, Riffle said interested people should start the application process now. He encourages applicants to apply in person at 176 Luther Seiber Lane in Caryville, but said people can also apply online www.camelmfg.com/careers/ (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED 06/17/2019-6 AM)