Berman Channels $3.25 Million Into Advanced Transit Project

Rep. Howard L. Berman (D-Panorama City) said Monday that he has secured $3.25 million in federal defense conversion funds for a plant in Los Angeles that would develop electric-car and advanced-transportation technology with civilian and military uses.

Berman hopes that the plant, called “an agile manufacturing facility,” will be located in his economically strapped 26th District in the northeast Valley.

“Agile manufacturing is a cutting-edge form of production which emphasizes flexibility, thus allowing firms to adapt quickly to opportunities presented by the rapidly changing global economy,” Berman said. “These funds will help revitalize Los Angeles’ manufacturing base.”

The grant, which is in the 1994 military spending bill, is part of a $46.2-million national program for the next fiscal year. The Defense Department’s Advanced Research Projects Agency, the program’s sponsor, will determine which applicant receives the seed money, which must be matched by state or private funds.

Berman, who has been a catalyst in various ongoing efforts to jump-start advanced manufacturing ventures, is helping forge a new consortium with companies in Los Angeles and elsewhere that is expected to apply for the ARPA grant, aides said.

The program is intended to capitalize on well-trained aerospace, automotive and other workers who have lost their jobs in recent years as well as the numerous small subcontractors hit hard by defense downsizing in the aftermath of the Cold War.

The fledgling consortium is expected to focus on manufacturing processes rather than a particular product. A broad range of companies would be partners in the initiative, which envisions a single plant manufacturing a variety of products that would target small, specialized markets.

“Our competitors in Japan have been employing agile manufacturing techniques for decades,” Berman said. “I expect this agile manufacturing facility to generate knowledge and information that can be used by almost any California firm.”

He said he also expects it to include “an emphasis on worker participation.”

This is the second year of ARPA’s program for dual-use high-technology transportation projects. The defense appropriation bill was passed late last week.