Bulletproof Fabric Helmets and Vests for Soldiers and Police Officers
A textile plant in Yozgat produced bulletproof fabric vests and helmets for soldiers and police officers.
A textile plant in Yozgat produced bulletproof fabric vests and helmets for soldiers and police officers. Ballistic helmets and vests that are much more durable and lighter compared to steel helmets and vests will enable soldiers and police officers to move much more comfortably during operations.
BETTER THAN STEEL Garanti Kompozit, manufacturing in Yozgat since 2004, produces technical textile products for use by soldiers and police officers. Besides soldier and police uniforms, the company also produces ballistic vests and helmets that are known as steel vests and steel helmets among the public. These ballistic vests and helmets, produced from fabric by applying a pressure of thousand tons and heat, are much more durable and lighter than the steel ones, enabling soldiers and police officers to feel more comfortable.
ONE OF THE HIGHEST CAPACITIES IN THE WORLD Garanti Kompozit General Manager Mustafa Kıran stated that they have been producing ballistic plates and helmets made of fabric for military and police use, known as steel vests and steel helmets by both the Turkish and foreign public.
Garanti Kompozit General Manager Mustafa Kıran underlined the importance that they attached to ballistic production and their efforts in this field: “Right now, we are among the top producers of several ballistic products in the world. There is also the personal protective systems among the ballistic product groups.
This group includes ballistic vests, ballistic helmets and ballistic plates, all produced fully in Turkey. We have the capacity to produce soft or hard plates and ballistic protective products against armor piercing ammunition. We have made huge investments into this field. And we, now, have one of the highest capacities in the world. We continue to invest in this field. We hope to become a fully-integrated ballistic manufacturer at the end of these investments.”
WE ARMOR HELICOPTERS AND SHIPS Kıran stated that they will armor large vehicles as well. “There are efforts to armor helicopters, ships and trains. We have made an investment to this field. Right now, we have a press capable of producing 1.6m to 3m plates. Thanks to this press, we have entered into the business of armoring helicopters and vehicles. We attach great importance to vehicle armoring in particular. It has a large market both in military and civilian sectors.
We want to be one of the leading producers of this market. Currently, we have begun to armor specific vehicles. When you bring your purchased product to us, we immediately mount the ballistic solutions and deliver it to you as an armored vehicle within three days.” Kıran also mentioned that ballistic products are now a huge market in the world. “We will also enter this market.
These are operations that require technology and R&D. So we established our own test laboratory to deliver our products without being dependent on overseas for their ballistic features. At this test laboratory, we can conduct tests based on the American NIS06 standard. This has brought us great comfort in the field of R&D. Now, we can produce high-quality products with less cost by finding our solutions by ourselves. This laboratory has also been accredited. There are only 7-8 laboratories accredited according to the American NIS06 standard in the world. We have established one of these laboratories in Yozgat, second only to USA.” said Kıran.
BALLISTIC VESTS AGAINST ARMOR PIERCING AMMUNITION Kıran stated that they are producing ballistic plates and helmets resistant to armor piercing ammunition. “At the moment, we are the only firm ambitious enough to produce ballistic helmets in Turkey. Their raw material is fabric. By heating this fabric under tons of pressure at a specific temperature and cooling it afterwards, we produce bulletproof helmets from fabric. These are very light products. In the past, these vests and helmets were made from steel, causing them to be extremely heavy. Here, we have helmet options starting from only 850g. We can produce helmets at the weight desired by the customer. We are currently producing helmets for police officers and gendarmes. We have solutions that we categorise under ballistic vest solutions for a variety of purposes ranging from short and long barreled weapons to armor piercing ammunition. We are capable of producing all types of ballistic vests and plates against armor piercing ammunition up to the level four, which is the highest level at our own facility in Turkey. We have significant sales figures in both Turkey and the world. Our main target is foreign markets. We sell 60-70 percent of our products overseas. We aim to be a firm that achieves significant export power, opening the city of Yozgat to the world as a ballistic base. In respect of ballistic vests, we now have the capacity to produce 2000-2500 vest per day.” said Kıran.