General Dynamics
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| General Dynamics Corporation | |
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| Type | Public (NYSE: GD) |
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| Founded | Falls Church, Virginia (February 21, 1952) |
| Headquarters | Falls Church, Virginia |
| Key people | Nicholas D. Chabraja, Chairman and CEO |
| Industry | Defense |
| Products | Conglomerate |
| Revenue |  $24.06 Billion USD (2006) |
| Net income | $1.71 Billion USD (2006) |
| Employees | 81,200 (2007) |
| Slogan | "Strength On Your Side" |
| Website | www.gd.com |
General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE: GD) is a defense conglomerate formed by mergers and divestitures, and as of 2005 it is the sixth largest defense contractor in the world[2]. The company has changed markedly in the post-Cold War era of defense consolidation. The company has four main business segments: Marine Systems, Combat Systems, Information Systems and Technology, and Aerospace.
The company was formed in 1952 from a merger of submarine contractor Electric Boat Company (founded 1899) and Canadair (founded 1944); though Electric Boat had owned controlling interest in Canadair since 1946.
Contents |
[edit] Marine Systems
- American Overseas Marine Corporation
- Bath Iron Works
- Electric Boat
- National Steel and Shipbuilding Company
[edit] Combat Systems
- General Dynamics Land Systems
- General Dynamics Robotic Systems
- M1 Series Abrams Main Battle Tank
- M1A2 Series Abrams Main Battle Tank
- Expeditionary_Fighting_Vehicle
- Heavy Assault Bridge program
- Stryker Armored Combat Vehicle
- Crusader Self-Propelled Howitzer
- General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products
- General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems
- General Dynamics European Land Combat Systems
- Steyr-Daimler-Puch Spezialfahrzeug GmbH (formerly Steyr-Daimler-Puch prior to 1998)
- Mowag corporation
[edit] Information Systems & Technology
- General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems
- General Dynamics C4 Systems
- General Dynamics Information Technology
- General Dynamics United Kingdom
- General Dynamics Wireless Systems
[edit] Aerospace
[edit] History
[edit] Legacy and Acquisitions
- 1899 - Electric Boat was established and became General Dynamics in 1952
- 1946 - Canadair purchased from the Canadian government
- 1953 - Convair merged with General Dynamics[3]
- 1962-1963 - Convair-produced Mercury-Atlas rockets launches four manned Mercury missions into low Earth orbit, including John Glenn.
- 1971-1985 David S. Lewis, Jr., was chairman and chief executive officer. During his tenure, General Dynamics’ revenues and earnings quadrupled.
- 1982 - Formed General Dynamics Combat Systems after the acquisition of Chrysler's combat systems
- 1995 - Acquired Bath Iron Works from Prudential Insurance, established in 1890
- 1996 - Acquired Teledyne Vehicle Systems.
- 1997 - Acquired Lockheed Martin Defense Systems and Lockheed Martin Armament Systems.
- 1997 - Acquired Advanced Technology Systems, formerly an operating unit of Lucent Technologies.
- 1997 - Acquired Computing Devices International, formerly a division of Ceridian Corporation.
- 1998 - Acquired National Steel and Shipbuilding Company, established in 1905
- 1999 - Acquired Gulfstream Aerospace from Forstmann Little, the company was founded in 1958
- 1999 - Acquired GTE Government Systems, Communication Systems, Electronic Systems and Worldwide Telecommunication Systems Divisions.
- 2001 - Acquired Galaxy Aerospace Company from Israeli Aircraft Industries (IAI)
- 2001 - GD Decision Systems formed (and later merged with General Dynamics C4 Systems) after acquisition of Motorola's Integrated Information Systems Group
- 2002 - Acquired Advanced Technical Products
- 2003 - Acquired GM Defense from General Motors
- 2003 - Acquired Steyr Daimler Puch Spezialfahrzeug (SSF) from an Austrian investor group, which bought the company in 1998 from the Steyr-Daimler-Puch-conglomerate. SSF is now part of "General Dynamics European Land Combat Systems" which includes also the Spanish Santa Bárbara Sistemas and the Swiss MOWAG, and has its headquarters in Vienna, Austria.
- 2003 - Acquired Veridian and Digital Systems Resources.
- 2003 - Acquired Datron’s Intercontinental Manufacturing Company (IMCO) Unit
- 2004 - Acquired Spectrum Astro.
- 2005 - Acquired FC Business Systems.
- 2006 - Acquired Anteon International.
[edit] Divestitures
- Coal mining
- Building materials
- Limestone
- Concrete
- 1967 - General Atomics to Gulf Oil
- 1976 - Canadair sold back to the Canadian government
- 1981 - Following expropriation legislation passed by the government of the Province of Quebec, General Dynamics' Canadian subsidiary sold its 54.6% controlling interest in Asbestos Corporation Limited to the Quebec government-owned creation, Société nationale de l'amiante (SNA).
- 1991 - Data Systems Division outsourced to Computer Sciences Corp.
- 1992 - Tactical Missiles Division to Hughes Aircraft Company.
- 1992 - Cessna to Textron
- 1993 - Fixed-wing military aircraft to Lockheed.
- 1993 - Space Systems Division to Martin Marietta.
- 1994 - Convair's aerostructures unit to McDonnell Douglas, (Convair closed in 1996).
[edit] Corporate governance
Current members of the board of directors of General Dynamics are: Nicholas Chabraja, James Crown, Lester Crown, William Fricks, Charles Goodman, Jay L. Johnson, George Joulwan, Paul Kaminski, John Keane, Lester Lyles, Carl Mundy, and Robert Walmsley.
[edit] Financials
General Dynamics has about $12 billion in sales, primarily military, but also civilian with its Gulfstream Aerospace unit and conventional ship-building and repair with its National Steel and Shipbuilding subsidiary.
In 2004 General Dynamics bid for the UK company Alvis Vickers, the leading British manufacturer of armoured vehicles. In March the board of Alvis Vickers voted in favour of the £309m takeover. However at the last minute BAE Systems offered £355m for the company in what was seen as a move to keep General Dynamics out of its "back yard". This deal was finalised in June 2004.
General Dynamics has tried to acquire Newport News Shipbuilding but been blocked by regulators and competitors, as this would make General Dynamics the sole manufacturer of nuclear-powered ships in the United States.
Controlled subsidiaries of the corporation are donors to the Canadian Defence and Foreign Affairs Institute [1].
[edit] References
- ^ http://finance.yahoo.com/q/ks?s=GD
- ^ 2005 Defense News Top 100
- ^ General Dynamics Corporation. U.S. Centennial of Flight Commission. Retrieved on 2006-03-31.
- Patents owned by General Dynamics Corporation. US Patent & Trademark Office. URL accessed on 5 December 2005.
[edit] External links
| General Dynamics Corporation |
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Corporate Directors: Nicholas Chabraja | James Crown | Lester Crown | William Fricks | Charles Goodman | Jay Johnson | George Joulwan | Paul Kaminski | John Keane | Lester Lyles | Carl Mundy | Robert Walmsley |
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Subsidiaries: Bath Iron Works | Electric Boat | Land Systems | Gulfstream | NASSCO | MOWAG |
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Annual Revenue: $19.4 billion USD ( |
