Across our company

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Soldiers say thanks – This group of soldiers attended the recent open house at Rockwell Collins in Coralville. After driving a HUM-V into the facility, the soldiers provided ammunition free weapon demonstrations. The soldiers also thanked our employees for their hard work and dedication.

More than 450 Rockwell Collins employees in Coralville, Iowa, and 1,600 of their guests learned more about our company and the products we build in this particular location during an open house held in early March.

Organized to provide those in attendance with an in-depth look at the products manufactured in Coralville and the effect they have on our customers, this event included a variety of tours, demonstrations and displays.

Those who visited the Process Center viewed the Surface Mount Lean flow layout, and watched live processing of the actual product. They also learned how the Universal Chip Shooter places up to 10 parts per second onto our circuit boards.

The progression of Global Positioning System (GPS) handheld receivers was on display in the Defense Advanced GPS Receiver (DAGR) and Ground-Based GPS Receiver Application Module (GB-GRAM) program areas, and provided attendees with a closer look at products being used by the military.

Several soldiers actually spent the day in Coralville and talked about how the Common Reusable Elements (CoRE) program - a key component to the KC-135 aircraft used to refuel airplanes in mid-flight - is vital to their missions.

In addition, the soldiers spoke with the children in attendance about the importance of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), and how they are used in the development of our product designs.

Several other product displays, including the GPS Embedded Module (GEMS), Embedded GPS Internal Navigation System (EGI), Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM), and Miniature Airborne GPS Receiver (MAGR), also were available and illustrated the evolution of technology.

Children in attendance created their own bar code labels, thanks to the Material Distribution Center. Some even received an extra bar code label that, when scanned, read "candy," and then directed them to a drawer full of goodies in the horizontal carrousel retrieval system.

A simulated area outside of the clean room also was organized by our Microelectronics group. Children wore gowns, gloves and hair nets while viewing wire bonds through high-powered microscopes.

Photo by FishEye Photography, Hiawatha, Iowa
Celebrating significant milestones — Lt. Randall Bergh (left) and Maj. Kelley McIntyre (right) display plaques recognizing our company's recent delivery of the 200,000th Defense Advanced Global Positioning System Receiver (DAGR) and the 40,000th Ground Based GPS Receiver Application Module (GB-GRAM) unit for the U.S. Army's GPS program. 1st Sgt. David Crowley of the U.S. Army National Guard (center), who also is a production manager at Rockwell Collins, holds the 200,000th DAGR.

Rockwell Collins employees, military officers and distinguished guests recently celebrated the delivery of the 200,000th Defense Advanced Global Positioning System Receiver (DAGR) and the 40,000th Global Positioning System (GPS) engine for the U.S. Army's Ground Based GPS Receiver Application Module (GB-GRAM) program.

Held in Coralville, Iowa, the celebration recognized our customers, suppliers and employees.

"Too often we get wrapped up in contracts, schedules and management plans, and don't take the time to thank our customers for their business and our suppliers for the excellent performance and support," said Bruce King, vice president and general manager of Surface Solutions in our Government Systems business. "I would also like to extend a special thanks to the employees of Rockwell Collins, who have so diligently worked on these two programs."

In our Coralville and Cedar Rapids facilities, more than 300 employees work on the DAGR and more than 150 employees work on the GB-GRAM program.

During the celebration, Rockwell Collins employee David Crowley, who also is a First Sergeant with the U.S. Army National Guard, shared his firsthand experience using our company's technology while deployed overseas.

Crowley used both the DAGR and the Rockwell Collins Precision Lightweight GPS Receiver (PLGR) to input precise positioning into his navigation and communication equipment while on a 16-month tour to Iraq in 2005.

"Thank you to all of you who help us as warfighters make a difference on the battlefield," said Crowley to those in attendance. "With the systems that the DAGR ran, we had the capability to track every U.S. truck in our convoy and communicate via instant message - not only with each other, but literally anyone in Iraq."

Rockwell Collins' first DAGR production delivery took place in April of 2004, while the first production delivery order for the GB-GRAM was in March of 2004.