Lockheed wins $70 million TWIC port worker contract
Company will supply 850,000 with biometric I.D. cards; technical challenges appear to have been overcome; BearingPoint loses out again on a major biometrics project; TSA to officially announce award soon
And the winner is…Lockheed Martin, which beat out such rivals as BearingPoint this week to win the $70 million contract to supply biometric identification cards to 850,000 maritime workers. Readers will recall that the contracting had first proved as sticky as the techology, with many observers and critics concerned that the salty maritime air might destroy the card-swiping machines envisioned for this part of the comprehensive Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC). Those problems seem to have been overcome and Lockheed will have eighteen months to complete the order. Since TSA has yet to formally announce the winner, few details were available at press time.
(One other note of concern: This is now the second major disappointment for BearingPoint in three months. As we have been reporting, the General Services Administration last year decided not to renew an ID card contract for the HSPD-12 program, instead rebidding it in the hopes of finding a better price. What is going on over there?)
In related news: Lockheed announced today that fourth quarter earnings had risen 28 percent on growth across its military hardware and other divisions. Net income climbed to $729 million, or $1.68 per share, compared with $568 million, or $1.29 per share, in the year-ago period. Revenue was up 6 percent to $10.84 billion from $10.23 billion in the previous year.
-read more in Griff Witte’s Washington Post report
