SALE OF TITANIUM SPONGE FROM
NATIONAL STOCKPILE HALTED
Turner Government and
Public Affairs gets the Defense National Stockpile Center (DNSC)
to Freeze the Sale of Titanium Sponge While It Examines the
Escalating Titanium Crisis
Washington, D.C., May 21, 2005 – Turner GPA, a Washington,
D.C. government relations firm with a proven track record in the
areas of lobbying, government affairs and public relations,
announced today that the DNSC has frozen the sale of titanium
sponge from the domestic titanium stockpile. In a letter to
Congressman Walter B. Jones, the DNSC stated, “As a result of
inquiries by the Military Services as to the type and
availability of National Defense Stockpile titanium sponge and
the limited amount of material remaining in inventory, DNSC
suspended public sales in April 2005…..DNSC will continue to
suspend sales until we hear definitively from the Army and Air
Force.”
The DNSC’s actions were in response to a letter sent to
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld from Third District
Representative Wlater B. Jones asked Mr. Rumsfeld to stop the
sale of domestic stockpiles of titanium sponge until the issue
regarding the skyrocketing prices of titanium and its affect on
the domestic aerospace industry is resolved. Despite the
domestic aerospace’s need for titanium, the Defense National
Stockpile Center recently sold several million pounds of
titanium, at auction, to commercial enterprises on the open
market.
“The costs of titanium have increased over 300% in the past
year and lead times to secure this element have gone from 14 to
54 weeks. The escalating price of titanium is threatening our
national defense system. Platforms such as the FA-22, C-17,
F-18, F-35, CH-35 and F-15 which are critical to our national
defense, are at risk. In the mean time, domestic stockpiles of
titanium sponge are being sold into the foreign markets and
outside of the defense system,” said Caren Z. Turner, CEO of
Turner GPA. “We are pleased that the DNSC has decided to suspend
the sale of titanium sponge from the domestic national stockpile
until this issue is resolved and clarified. We look forward to
working with them to reach an equitable conclusion on this
urgent matter of national defense.
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