Hardwire LLC Announces Expansion of Composite Armor Manufacturing Facility
(Pocomoke City, Maryland - September 29, 2009) -- Hardwire LLC, a leading developer and supplier of advanced composite armor solutions to defeat the most difficult and emerging threats, announced today its expansion project that more than doubles their armor manufacturing capacity at Hardwire's main production facility in Pocomoke City, Maryland.
The expansion is Hardwire's second large capacity increase in two years and is critical in order to meet the growing demand for its lightweight vehicle armor solutions.
Hardwire's armor manufacturing facility will expand from its current nameplate 3 million square feet annualized capacity to over 6 million square feet in high-pressure lamination. The expansion is anchored by a custom state-of-the-art 12,000-ton high pressure laminating press capable of producing pressed armor plates, flat or curved, up to 50 square feet each. The manufacturing facilities and associated computer numerical controlled (CNC) finishing work cells were also expanded to support this significant lamination capacity increase.
"With the increasing need and demand for the lightest weight armor, the fiber industry invested in significant capacity increases", said Rob Cosgriff, Hardwire's Director of Manufacturing. "We responded concurrently to expand the proprietary processes we developed to allow for unprecedented scale in transforming the raw materials into fielded products with no delay to our combat troops. This new press has been developed in a manner to allow complete redundancy with our existing press systems while allowing uninterrupted operation of the current press line. The full expansion capabilities are nearing completion."
This additional manufacturing capacity gives Hardwire the ability to develop leading-edge armor solutions that meet specific customer requirements across a broader range of programs on a large scale, and with shorter lead times.
This new facility is located adjacent to Hardwire's original armor and composites development center. Hardwire's armor development and manufacturing campus now also includes a third facility used to provide support for Hardwire's armor production and its other security products.
Hardwire’s Current Production Facilities in Pocomoke City, Maryland
Hardwire's dedicated focus on developing and producing advanced lightweight armor that defeats the most difficult threats has led the company to be a key armor supplier to multiple vehicle manufacturers, and has fueled Hardwire's inclusion on the Inc 500 list of fastest-growing private companies for the last two years. Hardwire HDX vehicle armor is utilized to protect a variety of important vehicles like Mine-Resistant Ambush-Protected (MRAP) vehicles, among others. Hardwire pioneered the lightweight and modular EFP armor solutions that are deployed today, which can be adapted to different threat levels in the field.
About Hardwire - Hardwire, LLC (www.hardwirellc.com) produces proprietary and unique value-added products for a variety of advanced composite applications including military vehicle armor and protective solutions for critical infrastructure including buildings, bridges, and utilities.
