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Retired Army colonel appointed as joint-venture vice president

JP Sales Co. Inc., Ann Arbor, Mich., has announced the appointment of Col. Dion J. King, U.S. Army retired, as vice president, strategy, for the new joint venture between CIGNYS, Saginaw, Mich., and Jay Industries Inc., Mansfield, Ohio.

CIGNYS and Jay Industries have extensive metalworking and fabricating expertise, as well as other competencies. Combined, the two companies will bring the efficiencies of large-scale, vertically integrated manufacturing to customers in defense and other industries. JP Sales is providing a variety of services to the joint venture.

King is in charge of all joint-venture defense-related business and acts as the joint venture's senior representative to the military and defense industries, collaborating with key stakeholders to seek new solutions to problems in the areas of soldier survivability, war fighting capability, and quality of life.

He is responsible for developing and expanding relationships with the relevant government officials and prime contractors; developing strategies to increase demand for current joint-venture products; identifying growth areas for the future; and refining and executing targeting plans for prime contractor and direct-to-government sales. King also helps develop new business opportunities for the joint venture and for JP Sales.

As director for combat vehicles for the Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA), Warren, Mich., since 2007, King led a $33.9 billion global manufacturing enterprise that produces and sustains all domestic U.S. Department of Defense combat vehicles, including the Abrams main battle tank, the Bradley fighting vehicle, and the Stryker combat vehicle. Before that he managed several other weapons acquisition programs, including the Army's mine-resistant ambush-protected (MRAP) vehicle, the Stryker infantry carrier vehicle, and the successfully led Stryker sustainment and upgrade activities in Iraq.

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King is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and holds a master's degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Michigan and a master's degree in national resource strategy from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces, National Defense University.