Hazelwood Briefs

OSHA Investigates the Death of a Forklift Operator in Hazelwood

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating an accident that killed a 53-year-old forklift operator in .

Donald Mitchell died Sunday, Feb. 6 after being thrown from the forklift at the Supervalu Distribution Center located at 7100 Hazelwood Ave.

According to a press release, the department responded to a call at approximately 12:36 p.m. The incident was called in to law enforcement as an accidental injury.

On arrival Hazelwood Police officers assisted the paramedics, according to the release, as the victim had been pinned between a piece of heavy machinery and a railing. 

Mitchell was transported to, but died later at DePaul Health Center.

Hazelwood West Varsity Football Coach Resigns

Cordez Vaughan, the head coach at , will not be returning as a coach next season, activities director Tim Williams confirmed with Hazelwood Patch.

Hazelwood Patch will have more on the story as it is released. Williams declined to comment on the resignation, pending administration approval to discuss. Last season was Vaughan's only season as the head coach.

U.S. Department of Defense Announces Latest Contract Awards

The Boeing Company was awarded a $38,208,000 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract Feb. 9.  The award will provide work directives for up to 200,000 labor hours of systems engineering support and field service representatives for the Early-Infantry Brigade Combat Team Low Rate Initial Production contract.  Work will be performed in Hazelwood, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 31, 2011.  One bid was solicited with one bid received.  The U.S. Army Contracting Command, Warren, Mich., is the contracting activity (W56HZV-09-C-0452).

, is also being awarded a $1,529,224,045 modification to definitize the previously awarded advance acquisition P-8A Multi-mission Maritime Aircraft (MMA) Low Rate Initial Production I contract (N00019-09-C-0022) to a fixed-price-incentive-firm contract.

This modification provides for the procurement of six P-8A MMA and associated spares, support equipment and tools, logistics support, trainers and courseware. Below is a breakdown of where the work will be performed:

• Seattle, Wash. (76 percent)
• Hazelwood, Mo. (10 percent )
• Baltimore, Md. (4 percent)
• Greenlawn, N.Y. (2 percent)
• Tampa, Fla. ( 2 percent)
• McKinney, Texas (1 percent)
• North Amityville, N.Y. (1 percent)
• Hauppauge, N.Y. (1 percent)
• Anaheim, Calif. (1 percent)
• Grand Rapids, Mich. (1 percent)
• Rockford, Ill. (1 percent)

Work is expected to be completed in January 2013. The Naval Air System Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.

Boeing Submits Tanker Bid to Air Force

Boeing Co. said it’s submitted its final proposal to build the U.S. Air Force KC-X air tanker replacement. The deal could be worth about $35 billion.

The company would build its NewGen tanker on its 767 airplane. In a statement, Boeing said that its proposal is better than the tanker proposed by rival Airbus, which would be built in Alabama.

“This decision is critical to America’s national security and its manufacturing base,” said Boeing Chairman, President and CEO Jim McNerney in a statement. “Our best-of-Boeing team has offered the most capable and fuel-efficient tanker that will enable the U.S. Air Force to continue serving as the world’s finest air refueling provider without breaking future defense budgets.”

The Air Force is expected to make a decision sometime early this year. Boeing’s $34 billion Defense, Space & Security division located here in Hazelwood is one of the largest employers in St. Louis with 16,000 workers locally and 68,000 employees worldwide. Boeing is Missouri’s largest manufacturer. Products include F/A-18s, F-15s, C-17s and weapons.

Cloud Sharing Keeping Savvis Afloat

Savvis Corp. narrowed its net loss in the fourth quarter of 2010 on stronger revenue as more companies invested in cloud sharing--storing data and software off-site.

The information technology company reported that its net loss and revenue were better than expected, which sent its shares to a new 52-week high.

Chairman and CEO Jim Ousley leads Town & Country-based Savvis. The company operates 31 data centers worldwide, including here in Hazelwood.

Savvis reported a net loss for the last quarter of 2010 in the amount of $2.9 million, which comes out to about 6 cents per share. This compares to a 2009 loss of $5.4 million, or 10 cents per share.

The company's revenue jumped 15 percent, to $252.7 million, driven by a 20 percent increase in revenue from its hosting segment to which cloud computing services make up a growing portion.

“Our remarkable fourth quarter results were an appropriate end to 2010, with good growth in managed services, colocation and network revenue reported on both an annual and a quarterly basis,”  Ousley said in a press release. “Our successful execution and the strategic changes we made over the past year are reflected in our solid financials..."

The company reported in December that it expects to generate revenue of $1.03 billion to $1.06 billion in 2011. Shares of Savvis rose $1.10 to close Feb. 8 at $32.21.

Savvis Inc.’s stock shot up Jan. 28 on analysts’ speculation that it could be the next company to be bought after Verizon Communications Inc.’s acquisition of Savvis rival Terremark Worldwide Inc..

“...Savvis is the closest public comparable to Terremark and, in our view, is thus a takeover candidate as well...” a Benchmark Co. analyst wrote, Jan. 28 on Benzinga.com.