Bendigo firm wins defence contract
http://www.bendigoweekly.com/articles/6136/1/Bendigo-firm-wins-defence-contract/Page1.html
By Nicole Ferrie
Published on 04/3/2008
IF you ask Brian Rush how he feels about landing an $80 million contract to supply armour to the Australian Defence Force, he can’t hide his delight.
IF you ask Brian Rush how he feels about landing an $80 million contract to supply armour to the Australian Defence Force, he can’t hide his delight.
ADA battles tough competition to secure $80m equipment deal
IF you ask Brian Rush how he feels about landing an $80 million contract to supply armour to the Australian Defence Force, he can’t hide his delight.
“This, for us, is massive,” the managing director of Australian Defence Apparel said.
Massive, indeed.
Eighty new jobs will be created in Bendigo following this week’s announcement the local defence contractor had beaten 16 international competitors to supply the defence force with next generation body armour.
A further 10 jobs will be created at the company’s Coburg headquarters.
“We’ve really stamped ourselves,” Mr Rush said.
“We punched against contenders more than 10 times our size in researching, modelling and manufacturing the new MCBAS body armour system.
“We are very proud that we are globally competitive.”
The system meets requirements specified in the ADF’s LAND 125 soldier modernisation program.
LAND 125 is tasked with integrating everything a soldier wears, carries and consumes.
The new body armour needed to cater for modern day battles, including bombings and snipers.
It features modular pieces which can be added or removed to cater for soldiers in low risk situations such as East Timor or higher risk situations faced in the Middle East.
The armour protects against piercing projectiles and is anti-stab and anti-spike.
The secret element of the armour is a single rip-cord which allows the armour to immediately fall away from the person’s body if the soldier is wounded or trapped.
The armour can be quickly reassembled by a soldier.
ADA designers met each of the LAND 125 requirements, keeping in mind the soldier’s comfort, ability to move easily and maximum protection.
“One of the major elements was survivability,” according to project manager Greg Linsdell.
“It had to be able to cope with hostile environments including bomb blasts, so our task was to increase the survivability of soliders in the battle field and to bring more soldiers home.”
Designers visited the Puckapunyal army base to watch soldiers and gain an understanding of the vehicles they travelled in.
ADA has provided apparel to Australian Defence Forces for more than a decade and also exports its products to the London Metropolitan Police, the British, Indonesian and Thai armed forces and serves the New South Wales and Queensland police.
Parliamentary secretary for defence Greg Combet, who visited Bendigo to announce the contract, said ADA won the tender “fair and square” for the best design, best technology and best proposition.
“This, for us, is massive,” the managing director of Australian Defence Apparel said.
Massive, indeed.
Eighty new jobs will be created in Bendigo following this week’s announcement the local defence contractor had beaten 16 international competitors to supply the defence force with next generation body armour.
A further 10 jobs will be created at the company’s Coburg headquarters.
“We’ve really stamped ourselves,” Mr Rush said.
“We punched against contenders more than 10 times our size in researching, modelling and manufacturing the new MCBAS body armour system.
“We are very proud that we are globally competitive.”
The system meets requirements specified in the ADF’s LAND 125 soldier modernisation program.
LAND 125 is tasked with integrating everything a soldier wears, carries and consumes.
The new body armour needed to cater for modern day battles, including bombings and snipers.
It features modular pieces which can be added or removed to cater for soldiers in low risk situations such as East Timor or higher risk situations faced in the Middle East.
The armour protects against piercing projectiles and is anti-stab and anti-spike.
The secret element of the armour is a single rip-cord which allows the armour to immediately fall away from the person’s body if the soldier is wounded or trapped.
The armour can be quickly reassembled by a soldier.
ADA designers met each of the LAND 125 requirements, keeping in mind the soldier’s comfort, ability to move easily and maximum protection.
“One of the major elements was survivability,” according to project manager Greg Linsdell.
“It had to be able to cope with hostile environments including bomb blasts, so our task was to increase the survivability of soliders in the battle field and to bring more soldiers home.”
Designers visited the Puckapunyal army base to watch soldiers and gain an understanding of the vehicles they travelled in.
ADA has provided apparel to Australian Defence Forces for more than a decade and also exports its products to the London Metropolitan Police, the British, Indonesian and Thai armed forces and serves the New South Wales and Queensland police.
Parliamentary secretary for defence Greg Combet, who visited Bendigo to announce the contract, said ADA won the tender “fair and square” for the best design, best technology and best proposition.