27 Jun 2006
PROTECTIVE VESTS MADE WITH DYNEEMA® GIVE DUTCH LAW ENFORCEMENT TRIPLE THREAT PROTECTION AND GREATER COMFORT
URMOND (NL), 27 June 2006 - The first of 25,000 new protective vests for Dutch Law Enforcement was presented today to the Royal Dutch Police Services (KLPD). The vests, manufactured by BSST GmbH of Germany in cooperation with Ten Cate Advanced Composites of The Netherlands, feature an innovative design incorporating Dyneema® fiber and Dyneema® Unidirectional (UD) sheet material from DSM Dyneema.
This event marks two milestones for Dutch law enforcers. First, the new vest delivers triple threat protection against bullets, knives, and needles. Second, this is the first instance of multiple law enforcement agencies in the Netherlands – including all local and national Dutch police forces - to jointly purchase a single vest design.
Jeroen Boks, Product Manager at Ten Cate Advanced Composites explains: “Our challenge was to meet the requisite ballistic, stab and needle protection performance levels, while also addressing comfort and flexibility for the wearer. Ten Cate's special high density fabric based on Dyneema® fiber provides lightweight protection against specific bullet types that are very difficult to stop. An additional layer of a stab resistant material provides critical protection against knives and needles without any concession to weight or flexibility. Finally, combining these materials with Dyneema® UD for ballistic protection leads to the vest design that was chosen by KLPD for their standard duty gear.”
“This is a great example of how Dyneema® products can help our customers to meet particular end user demands,” says Adri van der Waals, marketing manager Personal Protection, DSM Dyneema. “The cooperation between BSST and Ten Cate has led to a vest design that provides unique protection at a level of comfort and freedom of movement that was previously unavailable.”
Under the supervision of KLPD, the vests will be distributed to all Dutch police forces, including local and national police and The Netherlands’ Military Constabulary and Judicial Institutions Service.
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About DSM Dyneema
DSM Dyneema is the inventor and manufacturer of Dyneema®, the world’s strongest fiber™. Dyneema® is a superstrong polyethylene fiber that offers maximum strength combined with minimum weight. It is up to 15 times stronger than quality steel and up to 40% stronger than aramid fibers, both on weight for weight basis. Dyneema® floats on water and is extremely durable and resistant to moisture, UV light and chemicals. The applications are therefore more or less unlimited. Dyneema® is an important component in ropes, cables and nets in the fishing, shipping and offshore industries. Dyneema® is also used in safety gloves for the metalworking industry and in fine yarns for applications in sporting goods and the medical sector. In addition, Dyneema® is also used in bullet resistant armor and clothing for police and military personnel.
Dyneema® is produced in Heerlen (The Netherlands) and in Greenville, North Carolina (U.S.A.). DSM Dyneema is also partner in a high modulus polyethylene (HMPE) manufacturing joint venture in Japan. Further information on DSM Dyneema is available at www.dyneema.com.
About DSM
DSM is active worldwide in nutritional and pharma ingredients, performance materials and industrial chemicals. The company creates innovative products and services that help improve the quality of life. DSM's products are used in a wide range of end markets and applications such as human and animal nutrition and health, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, automotive and transport, coatings, housing and electrics & electronics (E&E). DSM's strategy, named Vision 2010 - Building on Strengths, focuses on accelerating profitable and innovative growth of the company's specialties portfolio. Market-driven growth, innovation and increased presence in emerging economies are key drivers of this strategy. The group has annual sales of over EUR 8 billion and employs some 22,000 people worldwide. DSM ranks among the global leaders in many of its fields. The company is headquartered in the Netherlands, with locations in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas.
Dyneema® is a registered trademark of Royal DSM N.V.
For more information about Ten Cate Advanced Composites, please visit: www.tencate.com
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New protective vests for Dutch Law Enforcement with Dyneema® fiber and Dyneema® Unidirectional (UD) sheet material from DSM Dyneema incorporated
Anouk Luykx
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