XTEK Ltd (ASX:XTE) has received a purchase order from FY Composites for its in-house produced personal Small Arms Protective Insert (SAPI) plates.
WATCH: XTEK's management team featuring at the company's AGM
FY Composites is a supplier for the Finnish Defence Forces and other European defence customers.
It is worth noting that this is the first order that XTEK has received in Europe for its latest rigid SAPI plate, produced using the company’s XTclave technology.
Philippe Odouard, managing director, said: “This purchase order win is a significant step for our business in the commercialisation of our in-house XTclave technology and is evidence of the quality of the composites that the XTclave can produce and also the demand for new types of lighter and more agile armour solutions for domestic and international defence forces”
For use in a variety of combat situations
The new order is for two types of plates both made of polyethylene that will protect against two types of threats.
Both are significantly lighter than existing SAPI plates, but offer the same level of protection.
The plates are also buoyant in water which means they can be used in a variety of demanding combat situations.
Commercial scale XTclave plant to be completed in FY18
The company’s XTclave technology makes it possible to manufacture lighter, stronger and stiffer composite articles.
The new purchase order is for a small batch of armour plates for qualification purposes which is the first step towards larger orders.
Importantly, this is a significant step for XTEK ahead of the construction of the latest iteration of its commercial scale XTclave plant which will be completed in FY18.
The plant will provide XTEK with the ability to meet large scale orders for its personal ballistic armour plates and will also allow it to make a wide variety of products for the global composites market.
READ: XTEK awarded multi-million dollar purchase order
Meanwhile, the company continues to work with a number of potential customers who have expressed interest in the XTclave technology.