Designed Metal Connections Inc.

Designed Metal Connections Inc., operating as Permaswage USA, a subsidiary of Precision Castparts Corp., manufactures precision hose kits, tube fittings, couplings, and elbows for military and aerospace applications as a prime contractor on Defense Logistics Agency orders and as a subcontractor to Lockheed Martin, Boeing, and Northrop Grumman on fighter aircraft and weapons systems programs. The vendor is a for-profit manufacturer based in Gardena, California, competing on full-and-open (non-set-aside) federal contracts with no SBA designations.

Permaswage USA's prime footprint centers on a single-award DLA Aviation indefinite-delivery contract worth $48 million through May 2028, awarded May 15, 2023. Under this IDIQ, the vendor has received three delivery orders totaling $23.5 million: a $10.085 million order (June 6, 2023, completed April 25, 2025) for hose kit manufacturing, testing, inspection, packaging, and delivery; a $6.715 million order (June 6, 2024, completing June 9, 2026) for additional hose kits; and a $6.715 million order (April 21, 2026, completing January 11, 2028) for similar scope. All orders are firm fixed-price and performed in Gardena. Across the vendor's full federal award portfolio—1,789 awards spanning 2005 to present—activity has contracted sharply: 20 awards in 2022, 37 in 2023, 13 in 2024, and only 5 combined in 2025 and 2026. The combined potential value across all awards reaches $145.4 million, with $100.7 million obligated.

Customer concentration is severe and heavily weighted toward DLA. Defense Logistics Agency Land and Maritime accounts for 1,172 awards (combined potential value $26.6 million), while Defense Logistics Agency Aviation accounts for 168 awards (combined potential value $78.3 million)—together representing 75% of all awards. The Department of the Navy Naval Air Systems Command, Department of the Army, and GSA Federal Acquisition Service round out the top five but carry minimal award counts. The split between dollar value and award count reveals DLA Aviation's higher-value individual orders (about $466 thousand per order) versus DLA Land and Maritime's lower transactional value (about $23 thousand per order). The top NAICS concentrations are Fabricated Pipe and Pipe Fitting Manufacturing (823 awards) and All Other Miscellaneous Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing (207 awards), with the bulk of procurement activity driven by PSC code Hose, Pipe, Tube, Lubrication, And Railing Fittings (1,002 awards).

In its subcontractor role, Permaswage USA delivers precision fittings—couplings, elbows, tees, and unions—to Lockheed Martin on F-35 long-lead procurement and test aircraft funding actions dating back to June 2022, with over 50 sub-awards visible. The vendor also supplies Boeing on common aerospace commodities and supports Northrop Grumman on control panel work. One delivery order reaching ultimate completion within the next 24 months (the $6.715 million June 2026 DLA Aviation order) creates a modest recompete exposure. The parent company structure, Precision Castparts Corp., is a major defense-industrial supplier; Permaswage USA's role within that portfolio appears to be specialized precision-component manufacturing for aviation hydraulic and mechanical systems.