Local maker of armored vehicles lists UN, NATO as top customers

MANILA, Philippines -  Whether it’s in the deserts of Afghanistan, Libya, Iraq or in drug-torn Colombia, people at war need more or less the same stuff – guns, armaments and armored vehicles.

However, little do many people know that some of these armored vehicles that have saved many people’s lives in conflict areas have been skillfully crafted by Filipino hands employed by British Armour Manufacturing International Inc., a Philippine-registered firm owned by Filipino and Norwegian shareholders.

British Armour is located right in the heart of the bustling city of Mactan in the province of Cebu.

It is one of the biggest locators of the Mactan Export Processing Zone, one of the economic zones under the supervision of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA).

The company, which has been in the Philippines since 2005, has plans to expand and make Cebu its hub for armored vehicles in Asia.

In an interview with The Star, British Armour chief executive officer Finn Wattenberg said there are endless reasons to expand business in the Philippines and one of which is the Filipino labor force.

“We have very good access to the labor force,” Wattenberg said.

He said the Filipino worker is highly skilled and is a fast learner.

The business, after all, is a delicate one as it involves the manufacture of vehicles that protect people’s lives especially during times of conflict.

Here, inside the economic zone, British Armour maintains a 14,000-square meter plant.

Wattenberg said maintaining quality is important because the business is about protecting lives.

Currently, the company sends finished vehicles to Germany for testing. It is the company’s way of maintaining the highest standards for its vehicles.

“We certify all of our vehicles. For each model we have, we send them to Germany. They do ballistic tests. We do blasts tests. We do tests with the hand grenade,” Wittenberg said.

The company’s main customers are institutional customers. These include the United Nations, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and other governments.

Admittedly, Wittenberg said, there’s business for British Armour when there’s war.

“Unfortunately, yes,” said Wittenberg.

He said that many of their vehicles have been attacked in conflict areas in Pakistan and in Africa but because of the high-quality of the armored vehicles, the attacks failed.

Wittenberg said the company sees the business growing rapidly.

“We see the business growing rapidly. We have a lot of orders in the pipeline. We’re almost fully booked for next year,” he said.

Currently, the company produces 200 vehicles a year but Wittenberg said the target is to produce 500 units by 2015.

“And after that, we will have 500 each year,” he said.

Indeed, with the company’s standards of excellence, business is expected to grow fast for British Armour especially in this age of terrorism and never ending conflicts.