I can speak first.
The supply chain on the joint strike fighter was extensive. The area we are in, in Grimsby and around the Great Lakes, has been very well known for the automotive industry and the supply chain to feed that industry. It has been damaged significantly by the impact of the losses to the auto industry and a lot of these firms have tried to diversify. We did this back in the early 2000s. I'm very thankful that we took those initiatives to go in different directions and to diversify. About 90% of our throughput in the nineties was automotive and today it's less than 10%.
Those supply chain people were highly reliant on the automotive industry and on Handling Specialty for the primary contracts we would produce—large assembly lines and marriage lines for the automotive. When we were able to obtain these large contracts to take the place of those automotives that had gone away, we provided survival to a lot of supply chains. They are very dedicated to us.
They're also the supply chains we're using today for their intellectual property to come to us with ideas and programs that make us more competitive. In this day and age it's not about just you and your intellectual property, it's about one plus one equals three. Our ability to look to our supply chain and come together with ideas and innovation makes us more competitive on a global platform. So at Handling Specialty we care very much about our employees, but we spend a lot of time and energy with our supply chain.
It was very important to us that Tom Burbage took the time to shake hands with each and every one of them during our joint strike fighter special day. It really does speak to what the joint strike fighter can do.
There are three principals sitting here before you, but there is a large level of supply chain. I can tell you that when we ramp up for major projects, it's difficult for small business to go out and surge their payroll that quickly, so we subcontract work. Although we may have doubled our capacity in terms of manpower, we did go to the supply chain. We bring in contractors and people who know us. That sponsors good economic stability.
I hope I helped you with that answer.