The National Nuclear Security Administration has authorized a Honeywell International subsidiary to begin its transition activities to take over management and operations of the Sandia National Laboratories, the company announced Wednesday.
The NNSA last month awarded the management and operations contract for Sandia to National Technology & Engineering Solutions of Sandia (NTESS), a wholly owned Honeywell subsidiary. The current contract is held by Lockheed Martin subsidiary Sandia Corp. and will expire on April 30, leaving NTESS to take over as site manager on May 1. The contract, with all options, is worth $2.6 billion annually over a decade.
Honeywell has received high marks in recent years for its work with the NNSA, specifically for its management of the National Security Campus at Kansas City, Mo.
The company’s latest announcement notes that NNSA issued NTESS a notice to proceed, meaning the transition is now underway. Stephen Younger has been announced as Sandia Laboratories director, replacing Jill Hruby; David Douglass will take over as deputy director.
Younger is a veteran of the Department of Energy’s national laboratories and past president of National Security Technologies, the management and operations contractor at the NNSA’s Nevada National Security Site; he also previously served as director of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency. Douglass has served in various leadership positions throughout his career at Honeywell, including as vice president of Honeywell Aerospace’s Boeing Business and vice president of Space, Missiles, and Munitions.
Sandia National Laboratories, with locations in New Mexico, California, Hawaii, and Nevada, conducts non-nuclear engineering development for nuclear weapons, develops systems that ensure the reliability of the U.S. nuclear arsenal, and supports the manufacturing and disassembly of nuclear weapons, among other technical nonproliferation and treaty verification support activities. The sites employ a total of roughly 10,000 employees.
Lockheed Martin submitted a bid for a follow-on Sandia M&O contract as part of a team with the Purdue, New Mexico State, and New Mexico Tech universities. Battelle and Boeing also bid on a team that included the University of New Mexico, the Texas A&M University System, and the University of Texas System.
NTESS’ subcontractors are Northrop Grumman Technical Services, Universities Research Associates, Longenecker & Associates, and Sandia Technical Partners.
“The NTESS team is honored to have been selected to lead Sandia National Laboratories under the new contract,” Honeywell spokesman Nathan Drevna said by email. “We are committed to a smooth and safe transition, ensuring continuity of the critical work that the Laboratories do for our nation’s security.”
Honeywell announced Friday a 14-percent increase in year-over-year earnings in the fourth quarter of 2016 and 8 percent growth for the full year. The company reported fourth-quarter sales of $10 million, a flat level since the same quarter of 2015. Sales over the full year were $39.3 million, a 2 percent increase from 2015.
