Armor vest plates protect military warriors

Ceradyne, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of 3M, announced it has received an award for more than $40 million from the U.S. Government for two separate Small Arms Protective Insert (SAPI) armor plate orders placed under Foreign Military Sales (FMS) contract for the Government of Afghanistan. The order requires delivery of 242,000 body armor plates over a six-month period for use in support of the U.S. and coalition force efforts to increase and maintain the military capabilities of Afghan partners in assuming control of their internal security.

“The contracts were won on a competitive basis reflecting the strength of Ceradyne as a major body armor supplier to the military,” said Marc King, president of Ceradyne Armor Systems. 

SAPI is strong, lightweight ceramic infrastructure integrated within body armor that protects combatants.

“This order for product to outfit Afghan troops demonstrates the synergies our newly combined organizations bring to this important market,” said Mark Colin, president and general manager, Ceradyne, Inc.  “The contract is the first step in driving growth through international applications for 3M and Ceradyne, since 3M acquired the company in November 2012.”

About 3M
3M captures the spark of new ideas and transforms them into thousands of ingenious products. Our culture of creative collaboration inspires a never-ending stream of powerful technologies that make life better. 3M is the innovation company that never stops inventing. With $30 billion in sales, 3M employs about 88,000 people worldwide and has operations in more than 70 countries. For more information, visit www.3M.com or follow @3MNews on Twitter.

About Ceradyne, Inc.
Ceradyne develops, manufactures, and markets advanced technical ceramic products and components for
defense, industrial, energy, automotive/diesel, and commercial applications.

In many high performance applications, products made of advanced technical ceramics meet specifications that similar products made of metals, plastics or traditional ceramics cannot achieve. Advanced technical ceramics can withstand extremely high temperatures, combine hardness with light weight, are highly resistant to corrosion and wear, and often have excellent electrical capabilities, special electronic properties and low friction characteristics. Additional information about the company can be found at www.ceradyne.com.

3M  and Ceradyne are  trademarks of 3M Company.

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Contact:
Colleen Horn Harris  
3M Public Relations 
651-733-1566