This PDF document was made available CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS CIVIL JUSTICE from www.rand.org as a public service of EDUCATION the RAND Corporation. ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT Jump down to document6 HEALTH AND HEALTH CARE INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS POPULATION AND AGING The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit PUBLIC SAFETY research organization providing SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY objective analysis and effective SUBSTANCE ABUSE solutions that address the challenges TERRORISM AND HOMELAND SECURITY facing the public and private sectors TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE around the world. U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY Support RAND Purchase this document Browse Books & Publications Make a charitable contribution For More Information Visit RAND at www.rand.org Explore the RAND National Defense Research Institute View document details Limited Electronic Distribution Rights This document and trademark(s) contained herein are protected by law as indicated in a notice appearing later in this work. This electronic representation of RAND intellectual property is provided for non- commercial use only. Permission is required from RAND to reproduce, or reuse in another form, any of our research documents. This product is part of the RAND Corporation monograph series. RAND monographs present major research findings that address the challenges facing the public and private sectors. All RAND mono- graphs undergo rigorous peer review to ensure high standards for research quality and objectivity. Lessons from the North Canada’s Privatization of Military Ammunition Production W. MICHAEL HIX BRUCE HELD ELLEN M. PINT Prepared for the Office of the Secretary of Defense Approved for public release, distribution unlimited The research described in this report was sponsored by the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD). The research was conducted in the RAND National Defense Research Institute, a federally funded research and development center supported by the OSD, the Joint Staff, the unified commands, and the defense agencies under Contract DASW01-01-C-0004. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Hix, William M. (William Michael), 1940- Lessons from the North : Canada’s privatization of military ammunition production / W. M. Hix, B. Held, E. M. Pint. p. cm. “This report is a companion to Rethinking governance of the Army’s arsenals and ammunition plants.” Includes bibliographical references. “MG-169.” ISBN 0-8330-3634-3 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Defense industries—Canada. 2. Canada—Armed Forces—Procurement. 3. Privatization—Canada. 4. Defense industries—United States. 5. United States— Armed Forces—Procurement. 6. Privatization—United States. I. Held, Bruce, 1958– II. Pint, Ellen M. (Ellen Marie), 1960– III. Rethinking governance of the Army’s arsenals and ammunition plants. IV. Title. HD9743.C22H59 2004 338.4'76234'0971—dc22 2004009655 The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit research organization providing objective analysis and effective solutions that address the challenges facing the public and private sectors around the world. RAND’s publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors. R ® is a registered trademark. © Copyright 2004 RAND Corporation All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any electronic or mechanical means (including photocopying, recording, or information storage and retrieval) without permission in writing from RAND. Published 2004 by the RAND Corporation 1700 Main Street, P.O. Box 2138, Santa Monica, CA 90407-2138 1200 South Hayes Street, Arlington, VA 22202-5050 201 North Craig Street, Suite 202, Pittsburgh, PA 15213-1516 RAND URL: http://www.rand.org/ To order RAND documents or to obtain additional information, contact Distribution Services: Telephone: (310) 451-7002; Fax: (310) 451-6915; Email: [email protected] Preface The U.S. Army owns more than a dozen plants that today manufac- ture ammunition, ammunition components, and other ordnance ma- teriel such as gun tubes and gun mounts. Some 70 completely private plants, at which the Army spends roughly two-thirds of its ammuni- tion dollars, complement this government-owned base. In contrast, during the period 1965–86, Canada privatized all its government- owned munitions plants, achieving beneficial results. This report is a companion to Rethinking Governance of the Army’s Arsenals and Ammunition Plants, a report published by the RAND Corporation’s Arroyo Center (Hix et al., 2003b). That report recommends that the Army privatize most of its government-owned ammunition plants and divest of two of its arsenals. This case study addresses the applicability of Canada’s experience should the United States decide to follow the Canadian example by privatizing its am- munition plants along the lines of RAND’s earlier recommendations. Familiarity with the earlier report is essential to a thorough apprecia- tion of the context in which this case study’s findings and recom- mendations are made. The earlier report may be obtained from RAND (www.rand.org/publications/MR/MR1651/). This study’s findings should interest all who are concerned with the U.S. defense industrial base and governance alternatives for the government-owned portion of that base. This research was conducted for the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Industrial Policy) within the Forces and Resources Policy Center of the RAND Corporation’s National Defense Research Insti- iii iv Lessons from the North tute, a federally funded research and development center sponsored by the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the joint staff, the unified commands, and the defense agencies. For more information on RAND’s Forces and Resources Policy Center, contact the Director, Susan Everingham, [email protected]; 310-393-0411, extension 7654; or RAND Corporation, 1700 Main Street, Santa Monica, California 90407-2138. More information about RAND is available at www.rand.org. The RAND Corporation Quality Assurance Process Peer review is an integral part of all RAND research projects. Prior to publication, this document, as with all documents in the RAND monograph series, was subject to a quality assurance process to ensure that the research meets several standards, including the following: The problem is well formulated; the research approach is well de- signed and well executed; the data and assumptions are sound; the findings are useful and advance knowledge; the implications and rec- ommendations follow logically from the findings and are explained thoroughly; the documentation is accurate, understandable, cogent, and temperate in tone; the research demonstrates understanding of related previous studies; and the research is relevant, objective, inde- pendent, and balanced. Peer review is conducted by research profes- sionals who were not members of the project team. RAND routinely reviews and refines its quality assurance pro- cess and also conducts periodic external and internal reviews of the quality of its body of work. For additional details regarding the RAND quality assurance process, visit www.rand.org/standards/. v Contents Preface......................................................................iii Figures......................................................................xi Tables......................................................................xiii Summary....................................................................xv Acknowledgments.........................................................xxv Abbreviations.............................................................xxix CHAPTER ONE Introduction.................................................................1 Background..................................................................1 The International Context of Privatization in the Late 20th Century ......2 Military Ammunition Manufacturing in the United States: A Contrast in Philosophy..............................................5 Objectives and Approach....................................................6 Organization of This Report.................................................8 CHAPTER TWO Defense-Related Ammunition Manufacturing in Canada Today..........9 Canada’s Defense Industrial Base............................................9 SNC TEC’s Ammunition Business Base ..................................13 SNC TEC’s Ammunition Manufacturing.................................15 SNC TEC’S Three Manufacturing Sites ..................................16 Le Gardeur LAP Plant..................................................17 The Saint Augustin Metal Parts Plant..................................21 Valleyfield Propellant Plant.............................................21 vii viii Lessons from the North CHAPTER THREE Creation and Transformation of the Canadian Ammunition Industrial Base........................................................25 Development of the Government-Owned Ammunition Industry ........25 The First Wave of Privatization in the 1960s..............................31 Decline of Ammunition Manufacturing and the Development of an Industrial Base Policy..........................................33 Preparing CAL for Privatization...........................................35 SNC Becomes Canada’s Principal Ammunition Supplier.................39 The Continuing Evolution of Industrial Base Policy......................47 Changes in Ammunition Contracting Policy..............................48 Summary...................................................................49 CHAPTER FOUR Military, Economic, and Political Context of Ammunition Manufacturing in the United States and Canada....................53 Military Context...........................................................54 Economic Context.........................................................56 Political Context...........................................................58 CHAPTER FIVE Summary of Insights Gained from Study of the Canadian Experience.............................................................63 Summary of Findings......................................................63 Canadian Government Satisfied with the Results of Privatization.....63 Canadian Experience Valid for the United States......................64 Preparation of Plants for Sale Enhances Their Attractiveness..........64 Potential Role of States in the Disposition of U.S. Ammunition Plants..................................................65 Competition Matters ...................................................66 Privatization Does Not Relieve the Government of the Need for an Industrial Base Policy.........................................66 Bankruptcy of a Private Supplier Does Not Necessarily Create a Crisis for the Government.........................................68 Selection of Buyers Matters.............................................68 Contract Types Matter..................................................68