Expansion Strategic Move to Meet Growing Demand for Innovative Respiratory Protection Solutions and Strengthen Relationship with Biggest Client, U.S. DoD —
— Facility Opening Event on March 8th at 11 a.m., Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger to Speak —
BELCAMP, MD – February 23, 2011 – Avon Protection Systems, a world leader in the design and manufacturing of personal respiratory protection solutions, expands operations in Maryland with a new 16,000 sq. ft. facility in Belcamp. The larger facility will help Avon Protection meet the growing demand for personal respiratory protection as it increases its market share in North America and to continue building its relationship with its biggest client, the U.S. Department of Defense. A grand opening event will take place on March 8th at 11 a.m. at the new facility in Belcamp, MD where Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger, Maryland’s 2nd District, will make remarks.
The expansion comes at a time of significant growth for the company and increased demand for personal protection equipment for military as well as, law enforcement, first responders and federal agencies where sales have increased by 650 percent during the past 3 years.
“This expansion is a strategic move, allowing Avon Protection to be in close proximity to the DoD, which helps us provide the highest level of support to meet its needs,” commented Gary Dunn, vice president of sales and marketing at Avon Protection. “Our mission as a company is to protect those who protect us, our families and communities. We take this very seriously and have some of the nations most talented engineers and industrial designers working hard to create the next generation of respiratory protection products that will improve protection for warfighters and first responders working in the field.”
The Belcamp, MD facility is the company’s business and innovation center and will house sales and marketing operations as well as product development and research and design of next generation chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) protection products. There are approximately 2.5 million Avon Protection masks in use worldwide with core end-users including military, law enforcement, special response teams, first responders, and US federal agencies. In 2000, Avon Protection won the DoD contract for the Joint Service General Purpose Mask (JSGPM) M50 program – one of the largest personal protective equipment (PPE) contracts in history.
In addition to Avon Protection’s worldwide military and law enforcement presence, many Maryland-based law enforcement agencies and S.W.A.T. teams use its personal respiratory products, including Baltimore City and Annapolis S.W.A.T. and Harford, Carroll and Anne Arundel County Sheriffs’ Departments.
About Avon Protection (www.avon-protection.com)
Avon Protection, an Avon Rubber p.l.c. company, is a world leader in the design, development and manufacture of CBRN respiratory protection equipment. Avon has been supplying respirators to the UK Ministry of Defence and other NATO allies for more than 80 years and is the sole provider of military respirators to the US armed forces, supplying the M50 Joint Service General Purpose Mask. With new conflicts and threat scenarios creating additional daily risks for individuals in military, law enforcement, first responder and emergency service applications, Avon Protection maintains a market leading position by investing in continual research and development to meet changing operational requirements.
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Editor’s Note:
Media is invited to attend Avon Protection’s grand opening event at its new facility on March 8th from 11a.m. – 12p.m. The new facility is located at 1361 Brass Mill Road, Suite F, Belcamp, MD 21017.
Coffee, juice, bagels and other light fare items will be served
