Oshkosh Subcontractor Continues Record of On-Time Delivery to U.S. Troops in Afghanistan

07:00 GMT, February 25, 2010 BENNINGTON, Vermont | Plasan, a global leader in the field of combat-proven survivability and armor solutions for vehicles, airborne platforms and personal protection, today announced that it has delivered 5000 armor kits for the U.S. Army's MRAP All Terrain Vehicles (M-ATV) as a subcontractor to Wisconsin-based Oshkosh Defense. Since the beginning of the contract in July 2009, Plasan has met all of its delivery milestones for 7 consecutive months.

Mr. Dan Ziv, President and CEO of Plasan, says: "We are proud of our continued success in meeting this ambitious production schedule. Plasan continues to work with our local subcontractors to meet the growing demand for M-ATVs and exceed our own high expectations of protecting warfighters. As soldiers building for soldiers, Plasan understands the vital need for armor solutions."

On June 30 2009, the U.S. Department of Defense awarded a $1.05 billion contract awarded to a team led by Wisconsin-based Oshkosh Corporation and Plasan North America to produce 2,244 M-ATVs for deployment in Afghanistan. Since that time, additional orders for M-ATV armor kits have grown on a monthly basis. In August, Plasan won an additional contract for the delivery of 1,700 armor kits as an Oshkosh subcontractor. These orders were supplemented with additional contracts for 352 armor kits in September, 923 in October, 1000 in November, 400 in December 2009, 600 in January and a most recent addition of 1,460 armor kits in February 2010. The U.S. Department of Defense has contracted Oshkosh and Plasan to produce a total of 8,079 M-ATVs to protect troops serving in Afghanistan.

Plasan credits this rapid delivery capacity to the application of its modular Kitted Hull concept. Under this concept, developed by Plasan, the armor parts can be produced in parallel at multiple locations allowing the flexibility to increase and decrease capacity in minimum risk. In addition this form of work leverages the OEM capability for assembly and allows it better control on the process - the parts and components are sent to the vehicle's manufacturer where they are applied to the vehicle at the assembly line,. Kitted Hull technology enables cost-effective assembly of armored vehicles, responding quickly to increases in production volume as the needs of the end-users change.

Plasan uses subcontractors capable of manufacturing the highest-quality composite components that conform to Plasan's exacting specifications. Plasan makes advance preparations with subcontractors to anticipate surges in demand and tight manufacturing schedules. Through its partnerships with subcontractors, Plasan is able to provide survivability solutions that are scalable, with the ability to respond to changing threats as they emerge.