Company in new $180m deal with US military
Kuwait City - PWC Logistics, a global provider of end-to-end supply chain solutions, announced Saturday that it has been awarded the Defense Distribution Depot Kuwait/Southwest Asia (DDKS) contract by the US Defense Logistics Agency (DLA). The total value of the contract may reach up to KD 53 million ($180 million) over a five-year period. Under the terms of the contract, PWC will provide warehousing and distribution services to the DLA using an existing PWC facility which is located in Kuwait and features over one-million square feet of both climate-controlled and outdoor storage space. The DDKS will handle over 70,000 different items and support DLA operations both regionally and globally. PWC will also provide value-added services, including asset tracking, packing for ground and air transportation, and IT development and implementation support.
The contract is scheduled to start on Aug 29, 2005, and is divided into five equal time periods, an initial twelve-month commitment followed by four one-year extension options. During each twelve-month period, the contract value may reach up to KD 10.6 million ($36 million). The actual value for each time period will depend on the volume of services required. Kevin Ruelas, PWC Logistics' Director - Business Development, commented, "We're extremely pleased to have been selected for the DDKS contract. Over the past few years we've worked hard to understand the DLA's requirements and build solutions which meet them." The DDKS contract is the third major long-term contract awarded by the DLA to PWC Logistics during the past three months. In June, PWC was awarded a five-year Subsistence Prime Vendor contract for the provision of food and related items to the US Military in Kuwait, Iraq, and Jordan with a total value of up to KD4.1 billion ($14.0 billion). Also in June, the DLA awarded PWC a five-year Heavy-Lift contract worth up to KD 449 million ($1.5 billion). In January of this year, the DLA named PWC Logistics "New Contractor of the Year" for 2004.
PWC Logistics is a global provider of end-to-end supply chain solutions, with offices located in 29 countries spread across 5 continents. Through its network of warehousing facilities and transportation and freight management services, PWC provides its customers with flexible solutions tailored to meet their business needs. PWC's customers span a wide range of industries, including apparel and footwear; automotive; consumer and industrial electronics; consumer packaged goods; engineering and construction; exhibits and entertainment; food and grocery; governmental and military organizations; and oil and petrochemicals.
AFP adds:
PWC Logistics already sealed a $3.27 billion contract with the Pentagon in February to supply the US military in Afghanistan, Iraq, Kuwait and Qatar. The contract expires around the middle of December. In June, the Pentagon awarded the company another deal worth between $1.4 billion and $14 billion to supply the US military in the Middle East for up to five years. The actual value of the contract will depend on US troop strength in the region over its duration. PWC Logistics, the largest listed fir on the Kuwait stock exchange, provides freight, storage and tracking services to private and public clients around the Middle East and Asia.
© Arab Times 2005
