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Archive for the ‘Industry’ Category

Avon To Acquire Ceradyne For $91 Million

Thursday, August 8th, 2019

Specifically, Avon Rubber PLC, best known for their CBRN protective masks, will be purchasing 3M’s armor protection business which includes production of helmets and armor plates. It operates three sites within the US and has about 280 employees.

3M developed the Integrated Head Protection System for the US Army, it’s latest ground troop helmet. They also manufacture armor plates for military and law enforcement.

Avon sees that this move, “Significantly widens Avon Protection’s product range in the personal protective equipment segment with a leading brand for next generation ballistic helmets and body Armour,” as well as “Deepens our presence in the U.S. and relationship with the U.S. DOD as a key supplier of ballistic helmets and body armour for the Soldier Protection System (“SPS”).”

The acquisition should be complete by the first half of 2020.

D3O Announces Partnership with RRDS to Bring Leading Impact Protection Directly to the Defense Market End User

Wednesday, August 7th, 2019

D3O has just announced a new partnership with RRDS which will allow end-users in North America to purchase D3O protective defense products directly from RRDS. This partnership will enable rapid fulfilment and greater ordering flexibility for customers. For example, in addition to being able to order full 7- or 9-pad helmet pad systems, customers will have the ability to purchase just one or two replacement helmet pads.

 

Bill VanMullekom, Senior Vice President at D3O US LLC, says: “We’re delighted to now be able to service individual customers online through our new partnership in addition to better servicing larger customers who require rapid fulfilment and distribution. We’re looking forward to seeing further growth in North America with the help of RRDS.”

This partnership marks a continued commitment to growth from D3O in North America which, over the last two years, has expanded its team and presence in the market.

D3O provides a range of Berry Compliant impact protective products which will become available to the North American market through this new partnership. End-users will have the ability to purchase D3O TRUST LP2 Knee, D3O TRUST Nimbus and D3O TRUST Stealth protection directly from the RRDS online store.  

Founded in 2014 and located in Irvine, California, RRDS has a proven track record of delivering top-tier services and assets while focusing on essential matrices such as quality, performance and best value, depending on the unique goals of each customer and the ultimate success of each program. This set of skills and qualifications made them the perfect partner to bring market leading defense products from D3O to North America.

Samir Naqvi, President at RRDS, Inc. stated: “RRDS is eager to see D3O become a staple brand in the defense sector. We plan on leveraging our long-standing relationships with federal agencies and military branches to aid D3O in this venture, utilizing our well-established distribution facility to service the industry. The innovation D3O brings to the market is truly exciting and is serving to advance the world of PPE for the men and women that rely on this gear.”

View the D3O offering on the RRDS website.

View the full Berry Compliant product range from D3O.  

D3O has also signed a partnership with TSSI which will service all areas East of Mississippi River.

GORUCK Moves Some Pack Manufacturing Overseas

Wednesday, August 7th, 2019

In a very transparent blog post, Founder & CEO of GORUCK, Jason McCarthy took a deep dive into his brand and the reasons why they’re moving the manufacturing of some of the very popular packs overseas.

BLUF – They want to control consumer pricing, but they’re not abandoning US manufacturing altogether. They are quite clear on that.

There are plenty of benefits to American manufacturing: communication with vendors is easier, quality oversight is easier because they’re closer, there are low minimum order quantities (~75 units vs. 1,000 units), moving to market is quicker, and there’s the support of American jobs, which has always been important to me. We intend to continue to support and utilize our American vendors (we have four), but not for the items that represent real scale for us.

This is a dilemma that everyone who manufactures textiles here in the US eventually faces. Unfortunately, our industrial base just isn’t that large. Additionally, labor is much more expensive here in the United States than elsewhere. Hopefully, we will see additional growth in our capacity to manufacture textile products are in the US, alleviating the need to go overseas at least to deal with capacity issues.

GORUCKS’s path forward is all summed up here:

• We’ll continue to build limited edition GR1’s in the USA; Black GR1’s and a couple other colorways will be built overseas (specifically in Saigon) moving forward. Rucker and GR2: same deal. The price on rucks built overseas will be less, so this is in essence an announcement of some (but not all) overseas manufacturing and a price decrease to our core rucksacks.

• For example, GR1’s Built in the USA version has been at $395. The models built in Saigon will be at $295.

• The model for us, USA vs overseas is this: where we can provide more value through customization and limited edition colorways and features, we’ll build those in the USA. We’ll build classic versions to scale, at quality, overseas.

The big post is well worth the read. Check it out here.

Introducing Crucible Consulting LLC

Monday, August 5th, 2019

We are pleased to announce the public introduction of Crucible Consulting LLC.

Crucible Consulting is a full service consulting and training firm focused on providing experience-based solutions.   Founded by Daniel Bales, James Davis and Timothy Braginton; Crucible Consulting is dedicated to developing quality-training solutions that meet the individualized needs of our clientele.  All three founders are full time law enforcement officers at a large metropolitan agency in Northern Nevada.   With over 25 years of combined Law Enforcement experience, our staff has worked, and is actively working, in many aspects of law enforcement.  Crucible Consulting will rely upon the vast and varied experience of its founders to provide clients with unified, dedicated, and proven training solutions.

Crucible Consulting’s experience with both the development and practical application of customized training solutions uniquely positions us to provide our clients with consultation services.  We are able to evaluate and offer solutions for existing training, equipment and policy.

Crucible Consulting is currently engaged in corporate contract work and private lessons.  

Look for more information regarding open enrollment courses offered by Crucible Consulting in the coming months.  In the meantime please visit us at: www.crucibleconsulting.us or reach out us via email:

daniel@crucibleconsulting.us

jim@crucibleconsulting.us

tim@crucibleconsulting.us

Rhuged Launches New Website

Friday, August 2nd, 2019

Rhuged is an online, direct-to-consumer, Veteran owned manufacturer of tactical and motorcycle oriented goods as well as apparel.

Leupold & Stevens Submits GAO Protest On USSOCOM’s S-VPS Program

Thursday, August 1st, 2019

Earlier this week, optics manufacturer Leupold & Stevens submitted a GAO protest of the U.S. Department of the Navy Surface Warfare Center Crane Division’s recent contract modification published on 18 July 2019, to the internal reticle under Solicitation No. N00164-18-R-JQ30 (“the Solicitation”) and Contract No. N00164-18-D-JQ30 (“the Contract”) for Miniature Aiming Systems-Day Squad-Variable Power Scopes (Second Focal Plane) to Sig Sauer, Inc. For this solicitation, Crane is working on behalf of United States Special Operations Command as their office of primary responsibility for lethality. SOF weapons and accessories as well as Visual Augmentation Systems are procured by Crane.

Leupold asserts that Crane improperly modified its contract with Sig Sauer and that the changes made to the contract were so substantial that the contract should be terminated and a new competition conducted for the modified requirements. The additional funding of the contract modification is so much when added to SIG’s winning bid that Leupold feels someone else would have been awarded the contract instead of SIG.

While the SIG Optics TANGO6T is at the heart of this action, it’s important to point out that the protest has nothing to do with performance. That hasn’t even been actually assessed yet as neither SIG nor Nightforce have delivered any production samples to the government. This is because USSOCOM decided to integrate a new reticle into S-VPS, the Tremor8.

When the program was created, a different reticle had initially been considered, but due to the adoption of 6.5 Creedmoor, SOCOM decided they wanted a bullet drop compensator reticle. Todd Hodnett had envisioned a new Tremor reticle and this was adopted, but in concept only. The reticle was sketched out on a napkin and included settings for 5.56 M855A1 as well as the new 6.5 CM round. Even when the optics had been selected and contracts awarded, the Tremor8 still did not exist. Just recently, months later, the reticle has finally been certified. Now that it has been certified, Nightforce and SIG can integrate the reticle into their scopes and deliver samples to the government for acceptance testing.

Both Nightforce and SIG will have to pay a license fee to include that reticle in the scopes the government will purchase, even though Nightforce shares an owner with Tremor8 creator Horus.

SIG’s winning submission to S-VPS (SFP) incorporated a proprietary wire reticle. While this was selected, SOCOM later decided they wanted an etched, illuminated Tremor8 reticle.

The additional cost of the integration of the Tremor8 into the SIG TANGO6T is what Leupold is protesting. Did the government violate its own requirement when it selected the SIG optic as submitted, or did the government select a product based on its own requirement and then direct the vendor to make changes which were costly? That is the heart of the question at hand. GAO will investigate the matter and make a determination. Possible outcomes are the status quo, a new solicitation, no procurement at all, or SIG being paid for at least a portion of the contract and a new solicitation being issued.

Read the redacted protest letter
here.

5.11 Tactical Opens 50th Company Owned Retail Store

Wednesday, July 31st, 2019

The company launched its first company-owned retail store in 2014
Irvine, Calif. (July XX, 2019) – 5.11 Tactical®, the global innovator of tactical apparel and gear, is celebrating the grand opening of its 50th company owned retail store in Fort Bliss, Texas this week. The store marks the completion of an initiative established in 2014 to launch and expand company-owned retail stores across the country, aiming for 50 stores by the middle of this year.

“It used to be that you couldn’t buy 5.11 pants unless you were training with a government agency,” said 5.11’s Co-Founder and CEO Francisco J. Morales. “Our retail stores are an ideal destination for people from all walks of life to come and experience 5.11 clothing, footwear and gear. Our products are specially engineered for first responders and the military to be functional, comfortable and durable, and through our 5.11 retail stores, everyday consumers can benefit similarly from the innovation we inject into our products.”

The beginning of the brand’s robust retail expansion came in 2017 and 2018, with an average of two store openings per month. The brand continued its momentum into 2019 with six store openings since January. An estimated 1-2 store openings per month are planned for the remainder of the year and into 2020.

“Opening our 50th store this week celebrates an ambitious and sustainable streak of retail expansion,” said 5.11’s Senior Vice President of Retail, Jeff Roberts. “5.11 stores offer professionals and consumers something beyond high-quality products to wear. The stores serve as a beacon for the first responder community and for the military, both active duty and veterans. Our Always Be Ready Academy offers the community free in-store classes in trauma care, self-defense, everyday carry, fitness and outdoor adventure. Our knowledgeable in-store staff, experts in their field, help bring 5.11’s innovative, purpose-built gear to life.” Roberts concludes, “We’ve found that even as shopping becomes more digitized than ever, people value and seek out the level of personal interaction our 5.11 stores offer.”

With its roots in servicing the law enforcement, first responder and military communities, 5.11 Tactical prides itself on seeking out and hiring former servicemen and women and veterans whenever possible. Each retail location carries head-to-toe apparel and gear for men and women including pants, shorts, shirts, outerwear, footwear, packs and bags, headwear, load-bearing equipment and tactical accessories. To date, 5.11 owns retail stores in 24 states, with larger metropolitan areas serving as a hub for several stores. 5.11 Fort Bliss joins the ranks as 5.11’s eighth store in Texas.


5.11 Store in Fort Bliss, TX

5.11 will host a public grand opening event at Freedom Crossing, 1611 Haan Rd, Fort Bliss, TX 79906, on Saturday, August 3rd, 2019. The military base will be open to civilians and the public is encouraged to attend. Commencements will begin at 9:30 a.m. with the National Anthem and a Door Breach Ceremony. The first 70 adults in line will receive a gift card valued up to $511, and all visitors will enjoy 20 percent off storewide, a free 5.11® limited-edition patch with purchase, raffles and complimentary food and refreshments. The storewide discount will continue through Sunday, August 4th.

Following the grand opening, the 5.11 Tactical Fort Bliss, Texas store will be open Monday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., and on Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

To find a store location near you, please visit www.511tactical.com/store-locator.

Milliken Names Price EVP of Milliken Operations, McAllister President of Performance & Protective Textiles Division

Tuesday, July 30th, 2019

Executives tapped to lead growth in global textiles, sustainability goals, among others

SPARTANBURG, S.C.— Milliken & Company, a global diversified manufacturer with specialty chemical, floor covering, healthcare and performance and protective textiles expertise, has named Jeff Price executive vice president of operations for Milliken & Company. Chad McAllister has been named the successor to Price as president of Milliken’s Performance & Protective Textiles division. 

 

Price was tapped to spearhead a new comprehensive corporate function at Milliken, overseeing corporate logistics and sourcing; environmental, health and safety; corporate engineering; global security; and Milliken’s consulting arm, Performance Solutions by Milliken. His impressive and successful 40-year tenure at Milliken includes leading the company’s global Performance & Protective Textiles division as well as serving as general manager of the company’s global airbag and automotive nonwovens business. 

“Jeff’s deep multidisciplinary knowledge spans manufacturing and general management and makes him exceptionally suited to pioneer this strategic and important role at Milliken,” commented Halsey Cook, president and CEO of Milliken & Company. “I look forward to his leadership in working closely with all Milliken divisions to achieve our sustainability goals for 2025.” 

“Milliken’s legacy of environmental stewardship has always inspired me,” said Price regarding his new responsibilities as executive vice president of operations at Milliken & Company. “I’m honored to be tasked with further growing sustainability and operational excellence, among other important functions, to broaden the positive impact of our company around the world.”

McAllister joined Milliken’s Chemical division in 2001 where he supported many initiatives including international business growth. He went on to hold finance and strategy positions in corporate development and the company’s airbag business. In 2010, McAllister joined Milliken’s Performance & Protective Textiles division as chief financial officer where his leadership resulted in continued division diversification and growth. 

“Chad is a strong and proven business leader,” said Cook. “His career accomplishments have uniquely prepared him to lead Milliken’s largest and most diversified division into the future.” 

“Milliken’s leadership in the global textiles industry is unwavering. I look forward to working alongside Chad and the entire team as we further the positive impact innovative American-made textiles can contribute to the world,” said Kim Glas, president and CEO of the National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO). 

“Milliken’s rich history in textiles, while more than a century long, is just beginning,” shared McAllister, president of Milliken’s Performance & Protective Textiles division. “It is an honor to lead Milliken textiles during such an exciting time for textile innovation.”

www.milliken.com