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Corporate Structure: Founded: 1852. Number of Employees: 150. President: Pascal Seradarian. Headquarters: Trenton, N.J. Web site: www.hutchinsoninc.com

Hiram Hutchinson, a New Jersey native, founded Hutchinson more than 150 years ago. The company's defense and security division has returned to his native state to lead the world's runflat and military wheel manufacturing industry. After World War II, the U.S. Army turned away from wheeled combat vehicles, such as the M-8 Grey-hound, to tracked vehicles. At the same time, many European armies continued their development of wheeled combat vehicles. Needing a means of flatproofing the tires on their wheeled vehicles, European manufacturers turned to Hutchinson, a well known rubber products manufacturer, to develop a runflat device for their wheeled military vehicles. Starting with the Panhard Engin Blinde de Reconnaissance, Hutchinson has been the leading manufacturer of runflat devices for military vehicles.

Hutchinson delivered its first runflat products to the U.S. armed forces when the Marine Corps purchased the MOWAG-designed and GM Defense license-built light armored vehicle (LAV-25) in 1979. The first runflats for the vehicle were manufactured in 1984. Hutchinson established its present offices in Trenton, N.J., to continue support of the Marine LAV and to begin production of its rubber variable function insert (VFI) runflat device for the AM General high mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicle (Humvee). The VFI was selected to replace the original magnesium-based runflat.

Since then, Hutchinson has manufactured more than 500,000 Humvee VFI runflats for the United States and its foreign military sales customers. In addition to the LAV and the Humvee, Hutchinson produces runflats for the General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) Stryker light armored vehicle, the Textron armored security vehicle and the Advanced Vehicle Systems fast attack vehicle.

Hutchinson runflats are designed to meet U.S. Army or FINABEL (France-ltaly-Netherlands-Germany Allemagne]-Belgium-Luxembourg) runflat mobility requirements. These requirements typically approximate 30 miles at 30 miles per hour, but can be adjusted to meet any customer's requirements. Demonstrating their robustness, one runflat recently ran nearly 200 miles on a Humvee in Iraq before finally failing. Hutchinson runflats have also helped a number of vehicles ambushed in Iraq to continue to move and continue their mission despite damaged tires.

Falling in line with its rubber VFIs, Hutchinson developed a military dual beadlock for use on tactical trucks. The beadlock is an essential component for vehicles equipped with a central tire inflation system (CTIS) as it prevents the tire from coming unseated from the wheel at lower operating pressures and keeps the wheel spinning inside the tire at low pressure in extreme terrain. Hutchinson rubber and metal-rubber beadlocks are standard equipment on the Oshkosh heavy expanded mobility tactical truck (HEMTT) family of vehicles and heavy equipment transport (HET), and the Stewart & Stevenson family of medium tactical vehicles (FMTV).

Recognizing the need for a multipiece wheel for use with the VFI and the inherent dangers of split-rim wheels, Hutchinson decided to develop a specialized bolt-together wheel for military vehicles. With the mandate to keep the weight of the Stryker LAV down for air transportability, Hutchinson's first major specialized aluminum military wheel was for the Stryker. This wheel uses aluminum to reduce the weight of the wheel over its steel counterpart by nearly 50 percent.

In addition, Hutchinson developed a patented process to integrate the central tire inflation system (CTIS) into the wheel and eliminate the external hoses, clamps and fittings found on other CTIS-equipped vehicles.

Using this integrated CTIS technology, Hutchinson developed aluminum wheels for the commercial AM General Hummer Hl. Hutchinson wheels and runflats are original equipment manufacturer (OEM) on all His rolling off the AM General production line in Mishiwaka, Ind.

Hutchinson has since become a recognized leader in the design and manufacture of wheels for military and other specialized wheeled vehicles. With their own in-house engineering, design and manufacturing capabilities, Hutchinson is able to meet the unique requirements for such advanced vehicles as the General Dynamics Land Systems advanced hybrid electric wheel drive 8Ã—8 and the reconnaissance, surveillance, targeting vehicle, the United Defense Pegasus Future Combat System wheeled vehicle and the Smart Truck III vehicle, unveiled at the recent Society of Automotive Engineers show.

Hutchinson also produces wheels and runflats for special purpose vehicles, such as cash movers and executive security vehicles. Their Rodgard subsidiary in Buffalo, N.Y., also makes runflats matched to existing OEM commercial wheels and manufactures other unique composite plastic components for defense, security and other industrial markets. Rodgard also fills a unique niche in supplying runflats for people movers, including AirTrain at Newark International Airport.

Hutchinson provides product support, with a full line of support machinery, training and on-site support.