Integris Composites
Integris Composites, the global leader in armor protection for the world's elite military and law-enforcement units, displayed its new "make your own shield" concept and soft body armor vests at Milipol Paris 2023 at the Paris-Nord Villepinte Exhibition Centre.
"We’re presenting two innovations," says Jan Grimberg, the senior vice president of marketing and sales EMEA at Integris. "A new product line of body armor vests with our Rapid Don/Doff system that is an industry first and a new line of customizable ballistic shields."
Integris, the new name for TenCate Advanced Armour, is continuing the company's quarter-century emphasis on safety, reliability, and survivability.
Make your own shield concept
The new shield line is designed to respond to law enforcement and military organizations, which frequently want designs tailored to their procedures.
"Bespoke solutions are nothing new for Integris Composites, but in the past, small-quantity, custom shield orders had to contend with the entire industry's inherent need to tailor-make molds for every version—cost prohibitive for small orders," says James Williamson, Integris Composite's sales manager for France, Spain, and Portugal.
The addition of new equipment in the past year enables Integris to make shields that are specific to a customer's needs for shape, size, and weight, but with a significantly shorter lead time and at a price like that of larger series. "Our new manufacturing capability reduces the nonrecurring costs (NRC) of molds. This makes one, two or a few handheld portable shields completely feasible," explains Williamson.
A dream capability
"This is a dream capability. Now, as a customer, you have a choice. You can buy something off the shelf from our catalog. Or you can buy a customized solution that's a lot more affordable than it was in the past," says Williamson.
Custom products are especially appealing to law enforcement and military since many units require specifications in size, weight, and shape to allow active members to perform their duties with a focus on safety and durability. "They don't have to buy a million euros worth of product to get exactly what they want. They don’t have to buy thousands of units to get exactly what they want. They can get exactly what they want when ordering a few units," adds Williamson.
Testing new Rapid Don/Doff vests
Throughout the show, Integris invites active members of law enforcement and the military to try on Rapid Don/Doff armor vests, which are making their public debut here.
These vests use a magnetic buckle system. "They can take it off, put it on in two seconds without losing their settings," says Stephen Jackson, regional director of Turkey, the Middle East and Africa. "This enhances safety, comfort and predictability."