MORGAN AM&T GRANT CLEARS FIRST HURDLE
Company will use money to develop military body armor

A U.S. Senate committee has approved $2 million for Morgan AM&T in Coudersport and St. Marys to develop improved body armor for the military.

The funds are part of the fiscal year 2008 Defense Appropriations Bill, which still must be approved by the full Senate and House, followed by President Bush's signature.

Morgan Advanced Materials & Technology, the former Pure Carbon Company, has benefited from the stepped-up demand by the U.S. and British militaries for production of ceramic inserts for body armor. Each nation has also contracted for stronger vehicle and aircraft armor.

Morgan, based in England, was already manufacturing breast and back plates when the entry of U.S. forces into Iraq and Afghanistan generated additional contracts. Side plates were added to the manufacturing process at Morgan in 2005.

Plates that are made in St. Marys and Coudersport are added to vests manufactured by ArmorWorks Inc. in Phoenix, Ariz., under military contracts. After work on the raw materials is completed in St. Marys, the forming, firing and fitting is done in Coudersport.

Vehicle and aircraft armor has also been in high demand, due to encounters with improvised explosive devices and ground-based attacks on aircraft, particularly in Iraq.

Construction is nearing completion on a new 18,000-squarefoot wing on the west end of the Morgan AM&T plant along U.S. Rt. 6, east of Coudersport.

It is not known how many new jobs will be created by the expansion. Morgan is in transition, with carbon manufacturing work being exported to Mexico. As Morgan's traditional carbon product line is phased out, the Coudersport plant is switching to armor production.

Some carbon employees have been switched to the armor production and more than 20 jobs have been added so far. The Coudersport work force is currently at about 320.