Australian Firm Wins Body Armour Contract

(April 2, 2008) -- Greg Combet, the Parliamentary Secretary for Defence Procurement, today announced that a local Bendigo firm has won the contract to supply body armour to the ADF.

The contract went to Australian Defence Apparel (ADA) Pty Ltd after extensive evaluations of highly competitive Australian and overseas tenderers.

ADA is all-Australian owned and a significant local employer - the 80 staff added by this contract will increase its Bendigo factory in regional Victoria to 250 staff. In addition another 10 staff will also be added to their headquarters in Coburg.

Mr Combet made the announcement during a visit to the ADA facilities in Bendigo.

"Under the contract ADF personnel will now be equipped with the latest protective technology available," he said.

They will start to receive the new Modular Combat Body Armour System from May this year.

The value of the contract is $80.7m for ADA which includes ongoing support services for the next five years.

"The final selection of ADA is reflective of the leading-edge technology available through Australia's internationally competitive protective equipment industry sector," Mr Combet said.

ADA's Managing Director, Brian Rush said, "as Prime System Integrator we welded together a consortium to provide the ADF with a local solution which combines world's best materials and technology with our own renowned design, manufacturing and service capabilities.

"ADA has supplied the ADF for nearly a century and we have now evolved into a forward looking operation gaining recognition for our products which are worn by military, security and fire fighting services around the world," said Mr Rush.

Mr Combet said that the Modular Combat Body Armour System will provide advanced ballistic and fragmentation protection for our troops. He said it also has the flexibility to be tailored to specific missions that they may be undertaking.

Mr Combet also congratulated the local member Steve Gibbons for his tireless promotion of defence industry in Bendigo.

"As a local member Steve has worked very hard to promote defence industry in Bendigo and he will be very happy to see the success of ADA," Mr Combet said.

"This contract today will provide a significant impetus to the Bendigo local economy and will provide further jobs indirectly for the local community."

Source : MoD Australia

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