A recently awarded $29.7 million defense contract will allow a Tempe company to supply some of the military defense materials being used in the war on terror.
Armorworks, Inc., which specializes in producing technologically advanced armor systems, was contracted specifically to produce body armor inserts to protect soldiers against enemy fire, said Armorworks president William Preciballi.
The body armor plates are a combination of ceramics and high-strength fibers, which allow the plates to be made "10 times harder than steel," Preciballi said.
The plates can be inserted into protective vests similar to the bulletproof vests that are standard in police uniforms, Preciballi said. The vests themselves offer protection from handgun bullets. With the addition of the plates, the vests will be able to withstand assault rifle and machine gun fire.
"It makes a dramatic difference in the protection soldiers get," Preciballi said.
The new defense contract will allow the firm to expand as it hires more workers to produce and develop materials for the military and improves methods of production, Preciballi said.
As the company grows, it may begin recruiting entry-level engineers on the ASU campus, Preciballi said.
The company has hired numerous ASU graduates from the engineering, accounting and computer information systems programs in the past, and it has created several part-time internships for ASU students, Preciballi said.
Recruiting for internships likely will start "soon" to replace an ASU intern who was recently hired for a full-time position at the company, he said.
Electrical engineering senior Wesley Butler said a local company with a large contract interested in hiring ASU students could generate interest from students.
"It's a highlighted thing on a [job] report; it stands out," Butler said.
In addition to supplying armor to U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, the military contract will allow Armorworks to develop new technology that one day may appear in consumer goods.
The technology being developed for current military protection devices one day may improve safety features in automobiles and mechanical items, Preciballi said.
However, the company will not manufacture such consumer goods as long as the military has an immediate need for protective goods.
"When there's a national urgency, the government will come in and take up production," he said.
Armorworks also produces aircraft and vehicular armor for military use.
Reach the reporter at amanda.keim@asu.edu.
