The Navy has lifted a ban against allowing bids by a Park City defense contractor, which was imposed after the military said the company made defective jet fighter parts and lied about it.
Lucas Geared Systems - which made gear boxes for the F/A-18 Hornet jet fighter - can again compete for Navy contracts, Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said he was told by the Pentagon."For the time being, Lucas is back in business," Hatch said. "The company really faced shutdown last fall. It had wrapped up all production and had no new contracts in sight.
"With debarment now lifted, production should be back to the $50 million levels, which could stabilize the work force at just over 250 people," Hatch said.
The Navy imposed the debarment last year after Lucas Western - its parent company - pleaded guilty to 37 counts of submitting false statements and was fined $18.5 million. U.S. attorneys said it was the largest criminal fine ever imposed on a defense contractor, but the company has disputed that.
Last October, the company also agreed to pay an $88 million civil fine to settle a False Claims Act lawsuit.
Hatch said he has followed the Lucas case closely for the past two years and is satisfied that the company is cooperating with the Navy to solve problems.
"The Navy's decision was based on sufficient progress taken by Lucas," Hatch said.
"The company took safeguards in the production process to prevent recurring deficiencies in quality control. Lucas also invested $13.5 million in new production equipment, set up an ethics training program and adopted other improved management practices," he said.