ArmorWorks Gets $500M Defense Contract
by Adam Kress
Phoenix Business Journal
8/26/2004

The Business Journal A local defense contractor landed a massive deal with the U.S. Department of Defense that will result in about 50 new hires by the end of the year.

Tempe-based ArmorWorks won a three- to four-year deal valued in excess of $500 million to produce SAPIs, or small arms protective inserts, for soldiers in the U.S. Army and Marines.

The SAPIs are high-tech plates worn over the chest and back that block gunfire. They are created out of a number of materials, including ceramics.

ArmorWorks president and chief executive Bill Perciballi said this is the largest deal in the company's eight-year history.

"The Army expanded the number of SAPIs it wanted to give to soldiers, and we won the competitive bid process," Perciballi said.

He said that over the next three or four years the Army will receive 829,000 sets of SAPIs, which include two plates. The Marines will receive between 120,000 and 250,000 plates.

Perciballi said the size of this contract means the company will need to expand.

"We will be expanding, but we haven't finalized our staffing plans yet," he said. "We'll be hiring engineers, administrative and production people."

ArmorWorks now employs about 200 people, and that number is expected to grow to about 250 by the end of the year. All the production of the SAPIs will be done in the Valley.

ArmorWorks is currently under contract with the U.S. Army, U.S. Air Force, and the U.S. Marine Corps to produce SAPIs. The company also is supplying its Humvee Ballistic Advantage Armor Kits to the military to protect vehicles against improvised explosive devices and other enemy threats.