Ken Mullikin, left, and Scott Shelton contribute an old wooden water line to the time capsule used to mark the 80th anniversary of Holston Army Ammunition Plant.
Holston Army Ammunition Plant has undergone a series of projects in recent years to modernize its operations, reduce its environmental impact, and deliver the highest degree of reliability for our troops.
Lt. Col. Joel Calo speaks during a ceremony installing him as the new commander of Holston Army Ammunition Plant last year.
Contributed by Justine Barati
Holston Army Ammunition Plant’s 80th anniversary cake is on display as the facility celebrates the milestone on June 6, 2022.
Contributed
Ken Mullikin, left, and Scott Shelton contribute an old wooden water line to the time capsule used to mark the 80th anniversary of Holston Army Ammunition Plant.
Contributed
Holston Army Ammunition Plant has undergone a series of projects in recent years to modernize its operations, reduce its environmental impact, and deliver the highest degree of reliability for our troops.
KINGSPORT — The Holston Army Ammunition Plant continues to make modernization advancements to improve the facility.
Last year, HSAAP celebrated its 80th anniversary and got a new commander: Lt. Col. Joel Calo.
“This is a very unique and important mission,” he told the Times News last year. “You don’t normally have the opportunity to work in a place like this where you can directly impact national readiness, and that’s really what we do here.”
The modernization effort will help to improve the facility’s environmental impact and expand production capabilities.
Some improvements from the last decade include a billion-dollar investment in an RDX capability expansion that is nearing completion.
Another major improvement that was completed last year was the addition of a natural gas-fired steam facility.
It replaced the plant’s outdated coal-fired steam plant and significantly reduced HSAAP’s carbon footprint.
According to BAE Systems, the new steam facility could reduce the site’s CO2 emissions by as much as approximately 700,000 metric tons annually.
Some ongoing projects include the construction of a weak acetic acid recovery process. This would enable HSAAP to recover used acetic acid and recycle it back into production, resulting in less waste and more efficient manufacturing capabilities. This project is expected to reach completion in summer 2023.
The plant is also working on a flashing furnace which would thermally treat waste. This project is set for completion in mid 2024.
HSAAP also started construction on a new Nitration facility in Jan. 2022. This new addition will allow for increased production capacity and more efficient outflowing of materials. The project is expected to be completed in mid 2025.
At the end of 2022, BAE Systems was awarded a $63 million contract to construct, commission and transition a new filtration and wash facility to production.
All of these efforts of modernization further ensure that HSAAP continues to serve the American warfighter with needed products while operating in safe, effective and environmentally-conscious ways.
