Gestalt’s Joplin office wins defense contract

U.S. Rep. Roy Blunt joined Gestalt President and CEO William Loftus in announcing the deal on Monday at the company’s office in the Joseph Newman Business and Technology Innovation Center, 407 S. Pennsylvania Ave.

Loftus said Gestalt is helping the military transition from “the industrial age to the information age.” The new software, he said, will give officers and soldiers in the field access to the same information that is now available only to generals.

Gestalt, which is based Camden, N.J., employs 18 workers in Joplin. Loftus said he anticipates the new contract will lead to the firm doubling its local work force in the next year.

Gestalt opened in Joplin in 2005 and became the innovation center’s first tenant in January.

The $7 million comes from a defense appropriation bill signed by President Bush earlier this year. The military spends $5 billion each year on command and control software, Loftus said.

“Every time you win a contact, it is a validation of the work you are doing,” he said.

Loftus said Blunt, the majority whip, provided support to the project during the appropriation process, but he added that Gestalt won the contract through a bid.

Gestalt is doing important work, especially considering the nontraditional enemies facing today’s military, Blunt said.

Jeff Wells is editor of Joplin Tri-State Business, Springfield Business Journal’s sister publication, which also leases space in the Newman Business and Technology Innovation Center. He can be reached at jwells@joplintsb.com.[[In-content Ad]]