In recent weeks, we introduced readers to the National Presto business, and then dug into the housewares segment and the absorbents business. This week we'll look at the munitions business. Munitions The final piece of the puzzle is the munitions business. Over the past few years, NPK has acquired a number of military contractors; AMTEC in 2001, Spectra Technologies in 2003, and Amron in 2006. And as US military operations have grown, so has revenue and earnings. In particular, NPK manufactures 40mm (millimeter, not million) ammunition, grenades launched from a canister attached to an M16. Military use of this weapon system increased significantly over the past decade. Every year the DoD releases budget estimates including the past year’s expenditure and estimates for the coming two years. In 2000, the DoD spent $44 million on 40mm ammunition, compared to $318 million in 2009. Estimates for 2010 and 2011 expenditures are $176 and $230 respectively. Looking back over the past decade, we see these estimates are prone to change, but it’s still our best guide. The table below shows actual military procurement in yellow followed by two years of forecasts. At the bottom, we compare procurement to NPK sales…