SAN FERNANDO VALLEY : Berman Expects L.A. to Get Funds for High-Tech Plant

Federal defense conversion funds will include $3.25 million for a plant in Los Angeles that would develop electric car and advanced transportation technology with civilian and military uses, Rep. Howard L. Berman (D-Panorama City) said Monday.

Berman said he hopes that the plant, called “an agile manufacturing facility,” will be located in his economically strapped 26th District in the northeast San Fernando Valley.

“Agile manufacturing is a cutting-edge form of production which emphasizes flexibility, thus allowing firms to adapt quickly to opportunities presented by the rapidly changing global economy,” Berman said. “These funds will help revitalize Los Angeles’ manufacturing base.”

The grant, which is in the 1994 military spending bill, is part of a $46.2-million national program for the next fiscal year. The Defense Department’s Advanced Research Projects Agency, the program’s sponsor, will determine which applicant receives the seed money--which must be matched by state or private funds.

The program is intended to capitalize on well-trained aerospace, automotive and other workers who have lost their jobs in recent years, as well as the many small subcontractors hit hard by defense downsizing in the aftermath of the Cold War.