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Force Protection, Inc. (NASDAQ: FRPT) is a manufacturer of ballistic- and blast-protected vehicles which have been used in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kosovo and other hot spots around the world.
[edit] CompanyThe company traces its roots to Sonic Jet Performance, Inc., a California speed boat company founded in 1997. When the boat business hit tough times after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, a new investor stepped in and looked to alter the direction of the business. A California Investor, Frank Kavanaugh financed and secured the rights to a new line of products in support of the company's Mission to Protect and Save Lives. Around that time, the team identified an insolvent company in South Carolina called Technical Solutions, that was building a prototype of a mine-resistant vehicle called Buffalo and attempting to build a smaller vehicle called the Cougar MRAP (Mine Resistant Ambush Protected). Ultimately after various several generations of designs, and the addition Dr. Vernon Joynt an internationally recognized blast expert a new management team led by CEO Gordon McGilton retooled the designs and manufacturing capability of the business to almost $900 million in sales over 3 years - by integrating high quality US automotive components with an innovative and effective blast resistant chassis. Technical Solutions was struggling, so they took it over in June 2002 and, not long after, they decided to focus exclusively on the V-hulled trucks. They also took a new name to reflect the focus on Protecting and Saving Lives: www.forceprotection.net. The heavily armored trucks featured a V-hull design that deflected underbody blasts away from the passenger compartment, and with Dr. Joynt's expertise the products were enhanced to address side-blast from IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices) that had become a primary cause of injury and death for soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. The base designs secured from Mechem (South African government) resulted in two U.S. models: the Buffalo, a huge, mine-clearing truck, and the Cougar, which was smaller and more versatile, and through the company's R & D efforts with Dr. Joynt several innovations and improvements such as the Cheetah, and Spaced Armor. Since Force Protection got its first small MRAP contracts in 2004 and 2005, it sometimes has struggled to deliver vehicles on schedule. It replaced two management teams and focused on moving from a prototype production environment to sustainable volume production methods. At first the company had only a dozen people on its early production line. At times the prototype approach took five weeks to build one Cougar. The United States Department of Defense fined Force Protection more than $1.5 million for delivery delays in 2005.[1] Partnering agreements with other defense industry manufacturers such as Armor Holdings and BAE Systems, as well as a joint venture company with General Dynamics ("Force Dynamics"), were made to merge Force Protection's proprietary designs with the manufacturing capacity thought necessary to meet increasing demand. Force Protection received several contracts as part of the MRAP program, supplying blast resistant vehicles to American forces in Iraq, but as 2007 progressed orders were increasingly placed with rivals companies.[2] In 2005, it became clear that a more experienced management was necessary to capture the opportunity and several managers left to form a rival company at Force Protection's initial location in North Charleston called Protected Vehicles, Inc. which ultimately failed, faced claims over stolen confidential data, and subsequently entered bankruptcy. [edit] Product Line
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