Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
Arizona Republic (Phoenix)
March 16, 2008 ArmorWorks also mulls peacetime opportunities
By Max Jarman, The Arizona Republic
The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have transformed Chandler's ArmorWorks LLC from a small startup into a major defense contractor.
Now, the 12-year-old company is looking for peacetime applications for its products as well.
"We're looking for commercial spin-off opportunities for when the wars wind down," founder Bill Perciballi said. Those include protection for law-enforcement officers and safety equipment for industrial workers.
But, for now, the military is buying everything ArmorWorks can produce.
Since Sept. 11, 2001, ArmorWorks has grown from a dozen employees to about 250 employees, and its sales skyrocketed from $3 million to an estimated $150 million annually.
The company's lightweight armor now protects tens of thousands of troops in Afghanistan and Iraq in addition to ground vehicles, aircraft and boats.
"What the war did was heighten the importance of protective armor and expedited its deployment," Perciballi said. ArmorWorks, Florida's Armor Holdings Inc. and Ceradyne Inc. of Costa Mesa, Calif., are the three top suppliers of armor to the U.S. military.
From the moment American troops hit the ground in Afghanistan, military officials realized they were ill-prepared for the region's urban-guerrilla warfare. Soldiers were vulnerable to snipers' bullets and their vehicles to deadly homemade bombs or improvised explosive devices.
The Army knew it had to protect its soldiers better but was initially skeptical of the relatively expensive high-tech ceramic armor.
"They were looking for a cheap, simple solution," Perciballi said. But Perciballi noted that as soon as the military realized it worked, they were quick to accept it.
An initial contract for 16,000 plates has grown to orders for more than 2 million.
ArmorWorks has provided armor kits to retroactively protect 2,000 high-mobility, multipurpose wheeled vehicles, known as Humvees, and has developed blast-resistant safety seats for the new mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicles being built for the Army and Marines. It also provides armor for Apache helicopters, U.S. Navy landing craft and the U.S. Marine Corps' expeditionary fighting vehicle.
Besides commercial products for law enforcement and industrial safety, ArmorWorks is working on a high-tech boat sail that is lighter and stronger than existing products.
With everything from armor to high-tech fabrics, Perciballi noted: "It's all about weight."
March 16, 2008 ArmorWorks also mulls peacetime opportunities
By Max Jarman, The Arizona Republic
The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have transformed Chandler's ArmorWorks LLC from a small startup into a major defense contractor.
Now, the 12-year-old company is looking for peacetime applications for its products as well.
"We're looking for commercial spin-off opportunities for when the wars wind down," founder Bill Perciballi said. Those include protection for law-enforcement officers and safety equipment for industrial workers.
But, for now, the military is buying everything ArmorWorks can produce.
Since Sept. 11, 2001, ArmorWorks has grown from a dozen employees to about 250 employees, and its sales skyrocketed from $3 million to an estimated $150 million annually.
The company's lightweight armor now protects tens of thousands of troops in Afghanistan and Iraq in addition to ground vehicles, aircraft and boats.
"What the war did was heighten the importance of protective armor and expedited its deployment," Perciballi said. ArmorWorks, Florida's Armor Holdings Inc. and Ceradyne Inc. of Costa Mesa, Calif., are the three top suppliers of armor to the U.S. military.
From the moment American troops hit the ground in Afghanistan, military officials realized they were ill-prepared for the region's urban-guerrilla warfare. Soldiers were vulnerable to snipers' bullets and their vehicles to deadly homemade bombs or improvised explosive devices.
The Army knew it had to protect its soldiers better but was initially skeptical of the relatively expensive high-tech ceramic armor.
"They were looking for a cheap, simple solution," Perciballi said. But Perciballi noted that as soon as the military realized it worked, they were quick to accept it.
An initial contract for 16,000 plates has grown to orders for more than 2 million.
ArmorWorks has provided armor kits to retroactively protect 2,000 high-mobility, multipurpose wheeled vehicles, known as Humvees, and has developed blast-resistant safety seats for the new mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicles being built for the Army and Marines. It also provides armor for Apache helicopters, U.S. Navy landing craft and the U.S. Marine Corps' expeditionary fighting vehicle.
Besides commercial products for law enforcement and industrial safety, ArmorWorks is working on a high-tech boat sail that is lighter and stronger than existing products.
With everything from armor to high-tech fabrics, Perciballi noted: "It's all about weight."