ATK wins French ammo contract

By Associated Press
LEWISTON (AP) - ATK Armament Systems in Lewiston has won a four-year, $14 million contract to supply French police with bullets.

ATK will make Speer Gold Dot 9mm ammunition for pistols, the company announced Tuesday. The Lewiston plant is part of Minneapolis-based aerospace and defense company ATK.

Company spokeswoman Amanda Covington said the contract was signed within the last two weeks. The Lewiston plant is the city's third-largest manufacturing employer with about 970 workers.

Covington said the company is hiring more workers but isn't sure how many new jobs will be created.

"We have been hiring again," she said. "We've continued to add jobs."

The company will supply about 250,000 French police with ammunition. Company officials, in a news release, said French officials spent two years developing their ammunition specifications.

"This French law enforcement opportunity demanded intense specification controls, rigorous performance testing and a top quality product," Mark DeYoung, ATK senior vice president and president of armament systems, said in the statement.