Parachute firm wins £50m deal to supply France
Thursday 21 January 2010 11:41 AM
A SOUTH WALES parachute manufacturer has secured a lucrative £50m contract with the French Ministry of Defence.
US-owned Airborne Systems, which employs 300 at its European HQ at Llangeinor, near Bridgend, has secured a contract to supply a new parachute system for the French airborne forces.
Over an undefined contract time period, the company will be responsible for the manufacture of more than 23,000 new troop parachute systems for the French airborne forces.
The manufacturing of the parachutes will be subcontracted to a number of suppliers across Europe, but the project will be managed out of Llangeinor.
The contract is with the DGA (Direction Générale de l’Armement) procurement executive of the French Ministry of Defence.
Airborne Systems would not disclose the value of the contract, but it is believed to be worth £50m. It comprises a combination of main and reserve parachutes, associated load-carrying equipment and training systems.
The new parachute known as “Ensemble de Parachutage du Combattant” (EPC) is replacing the existing parachute system, which has been in service for more than 20 years. The new static line operated non-steerable parachute will be used for mass low-level air drops, both in day and night-time conditions.
Airborne Systems will oversee the delivery of equipment and associated documentation to support packing, training and maintenance of the new system.
Chris Rowe, managing director of Airborne Systems Europe, said: “Not only is this a major strategic breakthrough for us in France, but we have also reinforced our global leadership position in the parachute systems market.
“We now have a firm foothold in mainland Europe, which will help us to increase our market penetration.”
The company, already the major parachute supplier to the UK Ministry of Defence, has now won two major new troop parachute systems contracts in the last four months.
Last October it won the largest of three contracts from the US Department of Defence to manufacture the new Airborne Systems design advanced tactical troop parachute system for the US Army – the T-11.
In its last financial year to the end of March 2009, the Llangeinor business achieved a turnover of £28m.
The new French contract is not expected to create jobs, However, despite the economic downturn, the operation last year recruited an additional 25 staff.
Production at the factory is predominantly focused on the British military, but about 30% of its work is for foreign forces, including the Italian armed services. Formerly Irvin-GQ, it also manufactures and supplies a wide range of parachutes and emergency, rescue and survival equipment to the coastguard and civilian businesses
Also See