Erickson Building Components

US 'Misled Over Stealth Bomber'

When China began testing its first aircraft carrier earlier this month, Washington was quick to issue a stern rebuke , scolding Beijing for its lack of transparency regarding the vessel’s purpose. ‘We would welcome any kind of explanation,’ US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said.

But in an increasingly tense western Pacific, both the United States and China are guilty of obfuscation about their military capabilities. It recently came to light the Pentagon appears to have lied about the condition of its small fleet of radar-evading B-2 stealth bombers, one of its most important weapon systems in its campaign of deterrence against a rising China.

The US Air Force possesses some 160 long-range bombers – the biggest fleet of bombers in the world. But only 20 are the latest B-2 model, designed to be largely invisible to enemy radars. The Air Force stations a dozen or so bombers at a time at its large air base on Guam, where they form a major part of the United States’ Pacific arsenal.

In 2008, a B-2 crashed at Guam, reducing the stealth fleet to its current level. In the wake of the accident, critics bemoaned the Pentagon’s tendency to concentrate increasing combat power in a decreasing number of ultra-expensive ‘platforms.’

In February 2010, there was another incident involving a Guam-based B-2 – a fire in one of the bomber’s two engines. At the time, the Air Force reported the damage as ‘minor.’ And that was the last any outsider heard of the incident for more than a year.

Then, last week, the Air Force admitted that the damaged bomber had been so badly burned that it had been unable to fly for more than a year. The damage was, in fact, ‘horrific.’ Engineers had to custom-manufacture replacement components at Guam in order to partially rebuild the plane and allow it to return to the United States for more extensive rework on Aug. 16.

masco acquires erickson construction company and guy evans, inc.

TAYLOR, MI -- Masco Corporation has acquired Erickson Construction Company and Guy Evans, Inc. Erickson offers a turnkey framing solution for residential homebuilders, providing pre-fabricated wall panels and millwork in Arizona, California and Nevada. Guy Evans, Inc., is a leading installer of millwork, interior and exterior doors, windows and bath hardware, for residential builders and commercial contractors in California and Nevada. The companies will be part of Masco Services Group (MSG), a subsidiary of Masco Corporation, and anticipate combined annual sales of approximately $200 million during 2007.

"These two outstanding companies add additional expertise and capability to Masco Services Group," said Alan Barry, Masco's President and Chief Operating Officer. "This is a strategic extension of the solutions we currently provide to builders."

Masco Services Group is a leading provider of a variety of installed products for homebuilders across North America. MSG has relationships with 90 of the top 100 builders, and sources, distributes and installs more than 20 different product categories.

With Erickson joining the portfolio, MSG now has the capability to manage the entire framing process for the builder, including the procurement of raw materials, the design of framing systems, the manufacture of engineered building components, the delivery of components to the job site and installation.

"Standardization and use of pre-fabricated components enables MSG to provide premium framing quality, while gaining efficiencies in material and labor, significantly reducing cycle time," said Donald DeMarie, Masco Group President - Installation Services. "Providing quality framing is a natural fit with our Environments for Living® program, as framing quality can affect the performance of a housing unit's shell."

Terms of the transactions are not being disclosed.

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